[Darkworlders] An Overlord RP (Arthotus and Sakura)

[Arthotus]

"Aye! What be ya business wit us?" the grizzled dwarven Gaul asked looking around at the gathered adventurers. He thumped his cannon down on the floor leaning heavily on it as he leered with his one eye at the females of the group.

He was surprised how much he could smell, being a slime it was his primary sense. He also vowed to get shoes whenever he was in disguise, because merely transformed as he was, he could taste the floor.

None of them felt powerful, his more supernatural senses restrained to a degree to prevent anyone from detecting him. No one short of the goddess at his side should be able to tell he wasn't the dwarf he appeared to be. Something smelled a little off about the human, but he didn't have the luxury of tasting her to find out what. Maybe later....

[SakuraHanaryuu]

"My name is Elenore(Dragonborn), these are my compatriots, Lou(human), Simon(elf), Archibald(dwarf), Wisk(halfling), Lilly(neko), and Ramah(lord). We wanted to know if you'd like to join us in some Guard duty."

"My name is Konsakura, call me Sakura. This is my friend Bron-" *She'd be pleasantly interrupted as Gaul introduced himself in an ever bombastic tone*, "Pleasure to meet your acquaintance", *Sakura was so large that she essentially didn't need a chair, if not for her ears one would think she was a lord, the ridiculous size difference between her and Bronzebeard proved wonderfully comical*, "What do you think Bron? Sounds like easy money to me."

(Gonna do some small posts to ease myself back into the right mindset mkay. Life's kicking me hard right now.)

[Arthotus]

(It's fine take your time)

"Guardin huh? Can't say I'm much for sitting around hoping for nothing to happen. Ain't got many years left eh! Depends what we're Guardin though, and why you seem to need so many? And my boom stick here has a lot of tricks, but none of them are particularly friendly if you are lookin to have a conversation with whatever I shoot. "

[SakuraHanaryuu]

"Ho-ho-ho! no conversations are expected with forest monsters", *Elenore chortled brandishing her longsword*, "We are to escort a demon hunter to the town of Beckham and back for a ritual cleansing of the roads. Where there are monsters, people die, this demon hunter is also a monk that wishes to purify the souls lost to the monsters along the road, otherwise they'll reincarnate into demons and haunt the roads"

*Sakura thought about it still feeling that giant spider squirming around in her compacted belly*, "Well it would help to get to know some well known people in the town, we are new after all. If we made a good impression it would certainly aid our reputation...What do you think about this Bronzy?", *she stated with that British accent as she sat atop a very wide pillow, as she was so tall she didn't need a chair to seat herself at table height. As she waited for Gaul to reply, she took a hefty swig from the stein of milk at her side, downing the contents in one go and hailing the barmaid for another filling while licking a milk mustache from her ever thick lips.*

[Arthotus]

"Ah Priests! I never get along well with em. Something about selling tickets to life after death always rubs me the wrong way. But if you're sure there'll be monsters I'll lend a few shots to the cause. Lookin fer something to do anyway! I just hope you lot don't mind loud noises! Ahahaha!" He slapped his leg loudly as he gafawed.

(Time skip to being on the road sound fine? I don't think theres much more characterization that needs to be done. Unless you've got something important to say?)

[SakuraHanaryuu]

*Within the hour, the group was poised to meet up with the demon hunter in question, a female lord going by the name of Mirusa. A monk like Sakura, Mirusa wielded a trident, as well as a collection of small portable side weapons fashioned to her belt, and gauntlets including a rope dart on her right gauntlet, and five chakrams on her left. on her belt a thin chain as well as some thick blue rope. She wasn't the chatty sort and continuously glared at everyone as if judging them, she was particularly cold when looking at Sakura though she never said why*

(still having some writers block sorry for the inadequate post, I just can't think straight.)

[Arthotus]

(It's fine. I know how it is. We're sort of reviving stuff, so it'll take a bit to get back into the flow. )

Gaul appraised the demon hunter with his good eye. He made a show of dusting off his cannon in the direction of the priest and avoiding looking directly at her. Honestly, he didn't care about demon hunters at all. As a slime, he wasn't really a demon so in the game htey had no special damage against him. Of course there were monster hunters, but his shape shifting was good enough to fool all but the highest level ones.

No, but his facade didn't like authority, clearly, and demon hunters who were the fist of the church were a pretty clear embodiment of authority.

[SakuraHanaryuu]

*Mirusa carried herself with grace as expected of a demon hunter, her movements were like a river, flowing and swift wasting little momentum. Ever so often she would stop and withdraw a small talisman, a crystal wrapped in a silk rope and adorned with a rare flower whose roots were growing around the blue crystal even as it wrapped around it blooming multiple times with white flowers. Mirusa would swing the crystal side to side as it leaked out a white mist which made the others feel quite calm, the groups human Lou however began to wobble from the smell and actually wound up passing out on the wagon*, "Lou?" *said Wisk, the groups ice wand toting halfling stated hopping into the wagon*, "you-"

"Stand back", *Mirusa commanded before she approached Lou and tapped the dual Katar wielding human with her crystal charm, then before there eyes, Lou transformed into a white furred Were-wolf, the little girl vanishing to behold a large beast of intimidating size and strength*, "Your companion is a monster...I'm rather surprised you didn't notice. This is a lightstone imbued with wolfsbane it reveals beastials and demihumans that are hiding in plane sight."

*Many eyes widened though some were not surprised*, "I'd always assumed she owned a dog...this explains the wet fur smell whenever we crossed water...", *the Dragonborn Elanore stated*, "but still what does this change again? It's not like I'm not a demi-human"

"Fool, this is a were-wolf, if she bit you, the disease would spread to you as well, it's a plagued beast"

"Yeah but shes also Lou, the girl we've been working with for years...isn't there a cure?"

*Mirusa frowned*, "we shall see if she's interested in such things when she awakes...for now", *the demon huntress cast a spell of binding, to wrap the white wolf in ropes and placed the wolfsbane talisman upon her neck to keep her subdued*.

-=-=-=-=-
"Whadya think Bronzy...doesn't this whole thing seem fishy to you? She says she's here to cleanse the roads but she brings along a stone of wolfsbane...I'm thinking she's more than a normal demon hunter." *Sakura would whisper to Gaul under a spell of silence, just in case the Huntress had some sort of spying augment.*

[Arthotus]

Gaul grunted, "Fishy....yeah that's what this smells of. Even through the powder up me nose, I can smell a set up. That demon hunter's probably been trailing this group for a while. If we turn our backs, she'll probably execute the fur ball." He thought about it, "Or actually...I wonder. Werewolves aren't usually high on their priority list, especially low level adventurers who have control of their curse. I wonder what she's up to, even if she was looking for this fur ball specifically. Offer to guard the wolf, we can't trust her alone with it. Let's see if we can sniff out what's going on." He dropped his facade a bit as he got more serious, but he laughed heartily and loudly as he stepped out of the privacy spell.

"Ah well, you think you know people and sudden;y , poof! They're a monster. Why, I once had such a bad gout of diarrhea, I swear I was possessed by a stomach demon! Woo, wee, I was shitting faster than my gun can shoot, and that's fast, let me tell you!" He thumped his gun down, hopefully some of the tension either moved aside or the ire of the group now directed at him, "So! You gonna keep doin yur job? Cleansing the road and all? I'm itching to blast something." He asked the hunter with quite a bit of force in his tone, showing he was rather serious about getting underway again.

[SakuraHanaryuu]

*Sakura nodded to gaul*, "Agreed...but we need to get that stone off of our fluffy little companion or she's gonna suffocate to death, it's called wolfsbane for a reason"

*While Gaul distracted the others, she slipped a vine into the wagon and snatched away the wolfsbane stone, replacing it with a loop of pixy vine which warped to mimic the object it replaced the stone in question just being an ordinary rock*, "Now Bronzy just be sure you're shooting from the gun and not the back door, I can pretty much speak for all present when I say we don't want to relive your experience with that", *as Sakura spoke she circled around behind Mirusa swinging her claws through the air in a flamboyant gesture while a low slung vine planted the wolfsbane stone back on her person. The giant Elfs posture and bombastic nature pulling a second distraction.*

*Mirusa said nothing but looked rather worried about Bronzebeard, and the group proceeded forward. Most were indeed worried about Lou, now revealed to be a werewolf, Sakura couldn't reveal herself, nor Gaul if they wanted to win over the town's approval, they'd just have to handicap themselves for now.*

*Soon the group was in the thick of battle, the road slipped into the forest and they were soon set upon by Dracopedes and the other fey beasts of the forest, the Team of beginners was decently organized each party member utilizing their tools and skills with effective timing. Their Neko Lilly began things with a well placed arrow from her Longbow, aiming to weaken or outright kill the heavier beasts before they closed in, her accuracy would do any parent proud as numerous Dracopedes and a Fey spider dropped before even reaching their convoy. Next was the Halfling Whisk, whose frost wand bombarded the temperature sensitive Fey creatures with shards of ice and cones of snap freezing mist that crippled their movements making it all to easy for the Elf Simon to crack his whip and snap away the thin parts of the beast's legs, and for any who got too close, his heavy claw would tear and hack into the great insects armored hides. Archibalds dwarven ropecaster doubled as a crossbow letting him accurately support the others and establishing a firing post within the wagon to give them a height advantage, whenever he moved to reload he would check their surroundings as he recocked the crossbow into firing position. Elenore the green scaled dragonborn, stood front position with the other warriors beside her, Simon at her left flank, and Ramah at her right, her shield and sword ready to catch any oncoming offencive.*

*Last was Ramah the lord, cloaked in deep blue as the lord was, he...or she wielded a steel Archistaff, a very powerful staff that was not to be underestimated, it bore a carving of a lion, when the great humanoid was not striking the head over oncoming beasts, they were maintaining a chant of steadfast. A useful ability that toughened up nearby allies. It seemed they had preferences similar to Sakura, invigorating those around themselves, protecting the group by giving them strength.*

*Mirusa also took part in the event, charging forth, with a pleasant surprise in finding Sakura beside her, each one utilized different fighting forms Sakura using Flailing Branches a staple of Fey Knights, Mirusa using the Lunar Dance, an advanced form from her church training. That said she would be shocked at the sheer force of Sakuras onslaught, her technique was indeed more advanced, but the Elfs might exceeded the strength of even prodigious monks, she fought like a demon and the two together crashed through the oncoming assault in a flurry of raging staves and mighty limbs.*

[Arthotus]

Gaul scratched his stubble for a few moments as the attack began. He made a grand show of checking his cannon, looking up at the approaching foes, then rechecking his cannon. More than a few moments went by with the boisterous dwarf seemingly doing nothing. Finally the other dwarf of the group, Archibald, after pushing one of the smaller bugs corpses off the wagon, shouted over the din of battle "You gonna do something loudmouth?"

The crazy looking dwarf grinned and hefted his great weapon, "if you insist sonny."

Gaul pulled the trigger and a torrent of flame shot out the end of his weapon arcing out over the heads of the group incinerating most of the flying bugs and smaller bird monsters. Anything larger fell to the ground screaming, the flames clinging to their body, even should they be intelligent enough to roll about to try and put out the angry and bright flame.

"Twas trying to decide if I wanted blue or green flames, but red is always good I suppose." He clicked a switch and began to pull the trigger, arcing globs of flame over the front line, creating smaller, but still fantastic explosions of fire and apparently molten death. His blasts weren't incredibly accurate, but close counted in this case. Entire groups of monsters were engulfed in hissing, impossible to extinguish flames.

Some of the crazier insects rushed the defenders, still on fire, in a suicidal attempt to catch them ablaze as well, but the flames and sticky burning tar didn't transfer to the adventurers. It only clung to those who it hit, even if a few trees were set on fire as well.

Gaul set his cannon down, leaning onto it as he watched the bugs burn, "reckon I should leave some for the rest of you youngins. "

[SakuraHanaryuu]

(I got called out to take care of grandpa yesterday and today, sorry I haven't been more active...my life is flipping insane right now.)

*Sakura would howl as one of the shots singed her branches (antlers/horns), swiftly drawing a wooden short sword and slashing the parts of the branches that had lava slime(or napalm) smeared over it making her tear up, it didn't actually hurt she just hated mutilating her appearance in this way sending Bronzebeard a red eyed death glare to let him know hed pay for that later*

*After the scuffle, parts of individual monsters were harvested, though nothing of use to Gaul or Sakura there were still pieces that could be sold for a nice bonus, spider eyes, and those fattened up thorax pieces were always helpful, a silk gland could be harvested and if there were any eggs they'd be sold as a delicacy to the high class, or given as gifts to improve credit and reputation.*

[Arthotus]

The crazy dwarf watched the low level loot being divided up. He shrugged when things were offered to him, "I'm not about monster bits. I just like to be paid for work done. Plus, when I do the killing their ain't usually much monster bits to pick through! Ahaha!" He laughed at his own joke, though most could see it was hardly a lie. Some of the insects hit by his shots were still burning, or were glowing piles of ash.

"Whoo wee, quite a little gang of bugs though. There always this many creepy crawlies about? I'd have a blast, but I can't imagine the villagers and farmers are so interested in shooting things." He asked the Lord of the adventuring group, mostly just because he was the closest.

(Don't worry about it. Life comes first!)

[SakuraHanaryuu]

*Ramah did not speak but shook their head from side to side, with their hand they motioned as if holding a large box, then brought the box in closer shaping a smaller box. *They used to be smaller*, was the intended message, though the more idiotic person might think Ramah was performing witchcraft.*

*Sakura returned flinging some bug slime off of her staff with a whip esq flourish, coating the grass in said goo*, "I do believe I've worked up an appetite, who wants some roasted spider butt!", *there was a surprising number of folks that would indulge in the idea and Sakura got to work preparing a meal for them, the hearts of the beasts shed slain she guarded jealously. But all other meats were processed with grace and vigor, one of each variety of the fey insects were crafted into a fine meal for the lot of them, far more than necessary. The cooking waking up the groups Wolfy surprise member*

"Ah our canine companion is up, Eleanor Mirusa, Lou is awake!", *Sakura would bark as she continued with the cooking. Mirusa would respond with a shocked expression deeming to examine the Wolfsbane crystal only to find it return to its pixy vine state. The demon huntress would turn with a grimace at Sakura who was failing to hide a mischievous smile while flipping some Fey-wolf paddies in a deep dish stone frying pan (Fey wolf is like a scolipede with a tail). She seasoned the food with her own spice jar, and breaded them with flour from her cooking kit.*

-=-=-=-=-
"So Lou, when where ya gonna tell us you were a werewolf", *Eleanor asked resulting in Lou's eyes growing wide*, "I-I don't know wha-...", *Upon checking herself she would realize she was in were form at which point her expression would become that of fear, her lower lip quivering and her canine ears flattening back before she hid her face behind her paws*, "I'm sorry! I-I was too afraid."

"-That you would be treated like the beast you are?", *At this Lou shivered but Eleanor snapped at Mirusa*, "Hey! Who asked you to comment? Lou is with us! Tormenting our party was not in your contract", *With a puff of white smoke from the Dragonborns nostrils she turned back to Lou*, "...Hey we're not mad at you Lou, everyones got their secrets, we just wish you'd have trusted us more is all", *Eleanor got her claws around Lous white ears and began to scratch behind them, swiftly calming the distressed wolf.*

"You're totally gonna be our mascot, we can call ourselves Wolf troop now!", *Wisk chimed in, causing Lou to promptly blush. Mirusa however had a look like someone spat in her face*, "Aw don't fret, Were-folk are considered Twilighters in the fey, between the Dark and Light faction, which is why Dragonborn like Eleanor have been so accepted in towns. Hell I'm probably more monstrous than she is", *Sakura said ever so nonchalantly earning her an intrigued expression from Mirusa*, "You know of Fey customs? How long have you been in the woods?", *The demon huntress was indeed intrigued, both as to the source of Sakura's immense strength, and as to her experience with the fey hoping to derive power from her knowledge.*

"I trained under the branches of Yggdrassil, the world tree, though for how long... honestly I lost count at about two hundred years", *anyone who heard her would have done spit takes and jaw drops, Lou face-planted off the back of the wagon, and Eleanor just went wide eyed*, "TWO CENTURIES?", *Whisk spat out*, "You look more like thirty years! How in sam-hill?"

"Oh come now, I'm an elf, but still, these augments to my body have some side effects, most elves live about three hundred years give or take, Simon looks to be about seventy years old so about thirty five in human years, but a fey touched elf can live a thousand, so I'm still quite in my prime, more like my mid twenties really"

"Intriguing, how does one become Fey-touched?", *Eleanor asked*, "Good question but don't go thinking it's easy...my first thirty years were spent taking care of Yggdrasil, the Goddess of the Fey...she's this massive floral dragon and she's fond of eating her servants...I've been crammed into an overstuffed belly more times than I'd like to admit, don't even get me started on that old wyrms eating habits, everything was on the menu", *Sakura waved her hand from side to side in front of her face, implying a foul odor*, "But after thirty years of satisfying the big girls desires, I was given her boon and this grimoire...don't bother trying to read it, the letters only appear to the fey-touched and there in Druidic to boot...those Fey-folk are a clever bunch, especially with their secrets."

"Hmm I don't suppose you've got something to do with this fey forest then?", *Eleanor asked and at that thought Mirusa became a bit more hostile in her stance.*

"The Fey creeps outwards all the time, it follows the fairies...I'd say something has happened to draw the Feywoods here, perhaps a particularly strong fairy is visiting the region, or maybe the old dragon is interested in this place."

"Hey hey! Show us some of your magic, I bet Fey spells are really unique", *Sakura was waiting for that request and her thick lips parted to reveal a huge toothy smile, laced with pride*, "Oh well if you insist...lets see, the ground is soaked with nutrients from the fey beasts, which should make this extra special...now then", *Sakura stood up from her cooking setting the latest paddy on a wooden plate she'd whipped up earlier before holding her staff to the sky and beginning with the basics", "Sage Lightning!" *She roared, as green lightning arched from her body and into the center of her staffs ringed head. However that's where the light show ended as the giant elf began to dance, and sing. The song and dance was bewildering and fluid, as if Sakura had summoned the spirit of grace itself. Despite her massive backside and legs, she proved to be surprisingly limber.*

*Dancing with the green ball of lightning in her staff and her voice channeling the fey energies, the plants nearby grew green and huge. Several apple trees sprouted in mere moments, bearing lush red fruits and the wild grass grew tall and green with feathery tips and strong blades, the metal of the party prevented the magics from entering their camp and overtaking them, but the roads were swiftly swallowed in the grass. Of course Sakura simply ordered the grass to uproot and slither off to find better soil like a bunch of thin snakes*

"You grew whole apple trees?", *Sakura plucked a fruit from the trees and gave it to whisk, whom bit into it with a crunch, and then another and another*, "Like honey no?, It's called a honeycrisp apple for a reason. They used to be common in these parts, but the state of the soil has deteriorated to a terrible degree. You really need to find a better fertilizer...take these Fey beasts, whatever you don't use or eat you should chop up, grind, and bury in your fields to improve the harvest."

[Arthotus]

Gaul made a show of looking disgruntled during all the display. He was the sour sidekick of the fey woman after all, "Here we go again. Growing things. Always ramping up all the local flora and fauna and crap. Every consider people like a more desolate looking landscape?"

"But isn't that fantastic? Growing food is an amazing gift!" Lilly exclaimed, aggravated by the dwarf's sour attitude.

"Not when she's sproutin shrubs outa your nephews face! She's right about the fey creatures though. Grind up basically any part of em and they make great ingredients for all kinds of things. Explosives, paste, fertilizer. I'm no alchemist, but I know my way around brewin up good explosives, and stragely enough brewin fertilizer and explosives is pretty dang close."

He continued to grumble under his breath, but the others ignored him. It was obvious he just had a bit of resentment for her showmanship, since he only ever shined when things needed to explode.

Under his disguise, the slime smiled. He was playing the reluctant helper. Sakura seemed to have the benevolent part down, but his role was to play the 'angry, beligerant partner who makes sure everyone gets their cut' part of their duo. After all, it wasn't often people truly appreciated a simple gift, but something they had to work for, something they had to wheel and deal for, that they would treasure more dearly.

[SakuraHanaryuu]

*At the end of Sakura's dance, she stood on a single leg the other planted on her own knee (Yoga: Tree stance), while she brought her hands together in a spiral motion, grasping her staff in an upright position and shaking the head so the wooden rings clapped and rang out several times, "Now Bronzy, I told Ragnar not to eat sunflower seeds when I was dancing, but did he listen...Noooo! That's whatcha get when you goof around during a ritual that took me eight years to perfect."

*Sakura returned back to her cooking, now adding sides of sliced apple to the mix encouraging everyone to dig in*, "Now you'd all better get it while you can, my apatite is more monstrous than my appearance", *Indeed Sakura's gluttony would go unchecked though this time around she chewed her food, she essentially out ate the werewolf in volume of ingested goodies. Materializing a pair of bamboo chopsticks and plucking whole patties to be shoved into her thick padded lips, nearly swallowed whole and rinsed down with swigs of spring water.*

"Ah, a woman after my own heart", *Simon the groups elf would chime as he proceeded to attempt to keep up*, "Women like you are rare...are you single?"

*After a mouthful of Dracopede(the aforementioned fey-wolves.) down the hatch Sakura replied*, "I'm afraid we're in totally different leagues, while I am indeed single, I require a mate of a different sort...of coarse we can always be friends, I'll probably be in town for quite a while." (FRIEND ZOOONED!)

-=-=-=-=-
*Once their meal was finished, Sakura producing an earth shaking belch that rattled their wagon, and ending with a big toothy grin, they packed up their supplies and took a barrel of apples for the road, fresh fruit would sell well at the tavern. Mirusa would be quite successful in pacifying the souls along the roads, and the group would be on their way back to Windenburg, where they enjoyed a selling of many foods, the apples sold quickly racking in three coppers per fruit with Gauls haggling skills, thrice the normal price due to their quality and the demand for such. A very expensive Apple pie was then readied to be sold to the general public and they sold like hot cakes! The meat of the fey beasts was also well accepted though due to the high supply the buying price was low but provided cheap and affordable meals to the town. Sakura sold recipes for cooking the fey beasts, which fetched a lovely price of fifty copper coins, though Gaul could have probably squeezed another twenty out of the deal, he was busy gathering intelligence at the local library at the time, it was a sad excuse for a librarium but it did provide some old maps which the Emperor Slime could use to further their goals, after purchasing a copy of a few maps and a hide tube to hold them in for safe-keeping, the duo would finally be able to meet up with the Mayor on accounts of their successful hunt.*

*The mayor of this town was an oddly short male lord dressed in fine grey cotton robes by the name of Leon, short for Leonitus, while short for a lord he was still taller than most men. With a mane of brown hair, he proved to be quite the wily one despite the town's desperate nature*, "from what our local demon huntress has told me you two were performing miracles in your little guard duty today...I'm not one to waste time on details...what's this I hear about making full grown apple trees out of thin air?"

*On the inside Sakura was already licking her chops, she saw how everything would play out from this point. Shed butter the townsfolk up for her big reveal, then when it came to the big day, she would lift the veil of deceit and slap down more farmland than a grocery store could ever hope for under the promise of erecting a great chicatrice farm to sate her appetite. A deal was soon struck with the Mayor but the details of that deal would be decided on a later date, for now she was commissioned to begin construction on an apple orchard near the town on the pretext of one silver piece per acre of orchard. Now they were getting somewhere.*


(about a three week Timeskip here, to the day before Sakuras unveil as Yggdrasil)

*Sakura had followed through on her promise, using lemon slime grenades to keep her belly fat and sated, while keeping things simple for the next three weeks. Producing about twelve acres of apple orchard each week, but all too soon the magic of but a single new taste would wear off and the public would be begging and demanding different foods, at this Sakura would pay the Mayor a visit and begin discussing the payment for her continued services. But she also stated that there would be a big surprise she'd been preparing for at the reveal*

*Later that night she met with Gaul under cover of night in her true form far out of town in her own secret garden allowing her immense belly to bulge out to its full size as she relaxed for a much needed rest, however, she didn't realize she had been followed. The elf Simon's eyes grew wide as he witnessed Sakura's transformation into Yggdrasil, he followed her out of adoration but what he discovered he could hardly comprehend, but it explained everything, Sakura the elf was secretly a dragon in disguise...but not just any dragon, a Fey-Wyrm however his snooping soon put his life in danger as Yggdrasil whipped her head around her blazing red eyes like twin stars in the darkness as she began to creep towards the curious elf whom attempted to hide himself, but to no avail as she simply stopped right over top of him and plucked him from the forest floor, lifting him high over her open jaws and dropped him into her gullet whole. The elfs eyes were wide in shock as he slid down Yggdrasils long slender neck, still unaware of her true identity*

"WAIT PLEASE SPARE ME, I WON'T TELL A SOUL WHAT I'VE SEEN!", *Yggdrasil would chuckle and knead at the bulge in her throat*, "Indeed, you will not, or rather you won't have the opportunity", *this caused the elf to panic even further, he would desperately try to escape...but strangely never used his armaments to attempt to cut his way out of Yggdrasil's body, with a few solid gulps, shed eaten the elf entirely, but for now he was safe within her. Yggdrasil did Simon no harm but merely contained him to keep him from spoiling her surprise and with that she turned back to Gaul and continued their chat.*

"It seems like we only cooked up this little scheme of ours just yesterday, tomorrow I shall finally reveal myself to the townsfolk, and we can begin preparations for the means to sate my gigantic appetite", *She was intentionally avoiding 'how' they would do that, to toy with Simon whom could hear every word she had spoken but Gauls speech would come through as muffled.*

"When my identity is known, it will draw suspicion to you as well, I recommend taking the form of something fey touched, preferably something both mighty in form and great in wisdom, that would be viewed as a suitable companion to a goddess. Perhaps another Feywyrm, or an Elder Dracopede, their known to grow very wise in their age, and they live very long lives."

*After their chat Sakura would continue to toy with Simon as he struggled within her belly, but she proved too mighty for him even with his armaments ready, her thick muscular tummy was far too hefty for him to so much as harm*

"Ho-ho-ho, having a bad time Simon? You know some folk seek me out just to slumber down in there, many view me as a motherly figure and become bewildered by my power and grace...you have yet to strike me with a blade, so I wonder, have you too succumbed to my charms?"

*Simon himself was wondering that, but he had no response, at which the dragoness chuckled patting her bloated hill of a gut*, "in that case, I'll let you in on the joke. You nor the village of Windenburg are in any sort of danger, well yet anyways, and so long as everything goes smoothly tomorrow, not a soul will be harmed. You see, I am no ordinary Feyling...I am Yggdrasil, ruler of all Feywyrms, and Goddess of the Yggdric Jungle...", *with this revelation, Simon stopped fighting all together, it was believable, her appearance was uncannily similar to the illustrations of Yggdrasil in all ancient texts, the slender muzzle and eye shape were especially spot on, and most Feywyrms only possessed six arms, while she possessed all twelve. There was no doubt, he now sat within the belly of an almighty being known as Yggdrasil, the one whom sewed the seeds of the first forests, the patron goddess of all druids, he could be crushed to death with a simple flex of her belly...and yet, she cuddled him within her, and toyed with him...Simon counted his lucky stars that she was more interested in playing with him than killing him outright.*

"I-I suppose I am...your grace", *Sakura gave her belly a firm pat continuing her kneading and rubbing*, "Well you did ask if I was single...if you're still interested, we can call this a date with a deity", *Yggdrasil would continue flirting and playing with Simon occasionally grinding her body over her bloated belly for some stimulation and pleasures, all in all it helped her loosen up, and relax in preparation for the big day tomorrow.*

[Arthotus]

Gual chuckled, "Maybe I could just act as surprised as the townsfolk. Not like there's any fey beasts that would tote around this thing. I haven't gotten to show off the half of it." He patted his alchemical monstrosity. The cannon could do so much more than breath and launch napalm. It could fire projectiles of stinging, freezing ice, explosive cannon balls, even blow hurricane winds. The weapon was so chocked full of different effects, it could practically be considered a legendary weapon. He had made it by exploiting some of the rules around bags of holding and 'structures'. Technically, in the game, one wasn't allowed to put a bag of holding into a weapon, but cannons, even mobile ones, counted as structures in the game, so he could work little pockets of holding into the weapon all over, turning it into essentially a mobile alchemy lab filled with all sorts of ingredients to do whatever he wanted.

"It's going much more smoothly than I had thought though. I was certain that by this point something would have gone wrong. These people really have taken our bait hook line and sinker. We'll have you on a not so stale supply of food again before too long." He chuckled, still amused that they were using the slime grenades to feed her, even temporarily. He had used those grenades to engulf whole parties of low level characters, back when the game was popular.

He wasn't bothered in the least by the elf's presence, continuing their conversation normally, "When you do reveal yourself, it would behoove us to have some control over the crowd, I'm sure not everyone will be overjoyed to have a goddess such as yourself in their midst. I'm sure there will be someone foolish enough to attack and someone foolish enough to run. Since this is more or less your operation, I'll leave things up to you. We may be revealing your presence, but mine is still going to be a secret."

He then gave some real thought to what he was to turn into. "Ah! I shall be a Phreca!" Phreca were rarer fey serpents. They were elder beasts of great intelligence, wisdom, but also greed. They absolutely adored magical items of all kinds. Often, they were sought out for their wisdom, but one had to deal carefully with the large serpents. One always had to bring something to give it in exchange for their knowledge or service, else they take their unprepared meal as payment. They also had powerful telekinetic abilities, which he would have to fake, but he doubted anyone in the town had the ability or experience to call him out on his cheat. They also weren't terribly large, only about as big as a large python, so it wouldn't be surprising that the dwarf was such a creature.

[SakuraHanaryuu]

*Sakura never released Simon, he would remain in her belly throughout the whole event, even as she returned to her elven form he would remain resting within her deceptively thin stomach, she would sleep, awaken, have her breakfast of apple pie and beetle chowder, and then move to the orchard, summoning the mayor and calling up the townsfolk for her big reveal*

"Dear citizens of Windhelm, brace yourself, do not look away for even an instant, what I am about to show you, you shall speak of to your children, and their children...for I am about to summon a deity, whom will renew your lands, and craft the finest floral landscape, you could ever imagine! No more shall you scratch by on meager morsels, and harrowed harvests, I shall set before you, a daily feast like that worthy of a king!"

"Really? 'You' can summon a deity...", *came the sarcasm of the hunting villages more sceptical members*.

"Indeed, I've been preparing this for weeks actually".

"How? How can you do this? The gods do not bend to the wishes of individual mortals"

"Oh well it's simple my dear", *All around Sakura flower petals materialized as if out of thin air, creating a vast cloud of color and wild swirling beauty, within which, Sakura in direct sight, shifted her form, her twelve mighty arms sprouting, her body growing to its true twenty four foot immensity, and her armor vanishing to reform her Yggdric heartwood set with all the radiant trimmings and fine embroidered fabrics. As she first puffed twin clouds of wily pink petals into existence, and then kept in a great spiral to catch herself and balance on her mighty tail claw, crossing her thick legs and forming her great staff of the twelve paths to hold in her right claw.* "It is because my dear villagers, I AM the deity."

*needless to say many were quite wowed, but in the silence of the moment the more knowledgeable members who knew what she was capable of, were wide eyed, many twitched, before suddenly some asshole pointed at her and shrieked out "...holy SHIIIIIT!", causing the whole of the town to fly into a blind panic. Sakura rolled her eyes and whipped up a wall of flower petals by swinging her staff in a loop to bring everyone back together*, "AHEM!", *with little effort she was able to rally the focus of the town back to herself*, "Please I'm hungry enough as it is don't cause me any more migraines...I really don't want to have to eat one of you but if you push me too hard I just might", *Sakura gave the lot of them a good hard glare before continuing*, "these orchards of apples have been paid for, I have already improved your lives with my boon, however I also have a long term goal, just as you wish for better dining so do I, and no I don't intend to eat any of you...most here are hardly an appetizer for one like me...no, I wish to dine on Chickatrice, and for that I will require a farm for them, this is a town of hunters, and this is my bargain. I will create a state of the art farm for your town special fit to raise the morsels I desire, and in return, I shall create lands of bounty for you, a garden of wonder all around your town, with fruits you could never imagine and fields of the finest grain. You shall have more than you could possibly need...my servants will maintain these lands, they are fond of the meat of lesser fowl...but the chickatrice will be for my lips alone", *Sakura then dropped onto her feet and allowed the hill of brown fleshed dough she calls a belly to swell out from her middle, pressing out her hips and making her arch her back*, "as you can see my stomach is very impressive...but this is not acceptable, my all devouring belly should be four times this magnitude every week, a meal of twelve chickatrice each will ease the burden of my hunting practices and allow me to live contently in the feywoods nearby...indeed the woods are my domain, and you have gained plenty from their presence access to the meats that can be hunted there, and the fruits and flora of the fey to rejuvenate your town."

"So...you want to be fed?"

"Do not underestimate my apatite, I have eaten villages larger than this one in a single setting", *Yggdrasil pounded her mighty belly, releasing the wall of flora to drift over all in the breeze*, "you have your options and I desire chickatrice meat, of course you will need to capture the beasts in order to establish the ranch...AH I have the perfect solution, to any who will aid in the hunt for 'live' chickatrice, I will grant the bark-mail armor of my Yggdric soldiers, it is a grand step up from your current attires, to any who secure ten chickatrice I shall grant a weapon hewn from Yggwood and the title of fey knight", *with a wave of the goddess's staff, and a swirl of flower petals, she summoned forth a fey knight, a lesser fey dragon like herself, carrying a mighty halberd to test against the town's greatest hunters, she was accompanied by two fey soldiers bearing elegant war clubs and stout shields, the soldiers were more tested as many were brave enough to duel the far smaller soldier class fey-lings, who were roughly human sized compared to the mighty ten foot knights.*

*The offer of quality armor and armaments was the dealbreaker in this case, as a hunting village, Windenburg's citizens were first and foremost concerned with tools for hunting and defence. Examining the armor of the feylings, they found both lightweight and durability, while the sturdier folk adored the stubbornness and size of the knights set, while neither were crippling to adorn. The weapons were mesmerizing, how wood could challenge steel and split stone was beyond anyone there, some thought it was witchcraft but in truth Yggwood was very close to steel in its molecular structure, but it could be carved when heated to a high temperature, when cool it held up to any steel weapon at half the weight, but the best part was that the gear was made from living wood meaning that it grew with time and could repair itself when soaked in blood from kills, that bit took a bit of getting used to but the many eventually saw the logic in it. Of course there would still be a place for a blacksmith in town, the old ways would never be dismissed.*

*After the politics and bureaucracy was out of the way, Yggdrasil produced a large dragon sized contract that could be easily read by anyone within Yggies bloated shadow, after a careful read through the mayor signed, and the dragoness began her great dance, full gurgling belly and all, but this dance shook the very earth and the majesty that came of it, was unlike anything the town had ever seen. A true eden blossomed into being all around the town, gardens through the streets and fruit trees in abundance, bushes of pineapple, grape vines on every fence, the very wood of the houses renewing themselves with fresh wood, dissolving the rot and reinforcing themselves with heartwood and bark.*

*The goddess puffed and huffed after finishing her task, her belly had shrunk by a quarter of itself, and several rumbles let the townsfolk know her apatite would hold only for so long. In the western part of the town, she sung great trees which took the shape of the ranch and housing for the great fowl, a reinforced design would prevent her morsels from escaping and the new flora would provide endless nourishment for the other ranches and all the cities meat scraps would go into plumping up her giant delectable hens*, "In the western hills I have summoned vast bushes of Foolsdrought, the roots of which when combined with Yggdric sap will make a splendid knock out drug you can utilize to render my Chickatrice prone, use it to get me my morsels, and do hurry, I am truly famished...so...for the first twelve birds to dive into my belly, I shall reward their capturers a bonus of their choosing...within reason of course, the first batch of Yggdric Bark-mail will arrive at the pub, anyone who takes up the chickatrice capture pamphlet shall receive a single set, believe me, I'll know if someone tries to sneak an extra set."

*After things went off without a hitch, Sakura was beginning to think things would be taking a turn for the better. Once shed instructed the mayor on how to contact her in the eastern forest, she formed her pink cloudy perch and flew off back to Gauls tower to meet up and receive her dinner, as well as discuss the future plans. What she did not know was that she was again being followed, Mirusa had gathered quite a party in favor of removing the goddess's influence over their town. Mainly those believing in the ways of the church.*

[Arthotus]

Gaul watched the reveal from his tower with a simple orb of far sight. He had more secure ways of viewing the ceremony, but he had his reasons for using the orb. Oddly enough, such a simply, blunt way of far viewing often went 'under' higher level radar, since it was so simple and obvious for the magically sensitive. As he had predicted, some reacted poorly, but he was hardly surprised when the dragon reigned them all in. He chuckled at her antics and her summoning of knights to play with the townsfolk. His automatons could easily wrangle that many cockatrice, but wasn't that the point of this little excursion to civilization?

Speaking of which, he smiled as she entered his tower, his multicolored slime form emphasizing his smile to a psychotic degree, more creepy than funny. "Ah! Welcome back! That went wonderfully. Please, sit! Eat! I doubt will really satisfy your 'taste', but I've had the guardians working on quantity over quality. This was always more of a military installation than a comfort inn." He coughed, realizing he'd let a bit of real world jargon slip though again.

The feast he was referring to filled the majority of his treasure room. He had had much of the grand, space and time bending space cleaned and rearranged. The floor, ceiling and new thick perfect circular pillars were all now made of gold, obviously to still allow the guardian of the room, Horus, to get around, but it seemed far more open now. In place of the piles of gold, were long, huge tables, piled high with meat and foods of all kinds. He had been keeping this feast a secret, the supplies gathered by most of the guardians and some of the automatons. Where before there had been uncountable pieces of gold, now sat mountains of roasted bugs, wolves, bears, birds, fish, a few lesser wyrms, some kobolds, and even a few light worlders who had strayed too close to the tower or seen one of the automaton hunting parties. He had quickly reprogrammed the automatons not to catch and cook light worlders after he realized what had happened, but there was still an adventuring party or two mixed into the grand feast. He figured the hungry goddess wouldn't mind.

The one thing that would draw her attention immediately, though, was a Cockatrice, still very much alive and well, setting a top the biggest pile of food.

Gaul held up his hand, "Now, Just give me a moment. I'm not a cook, I'm an alchemist, but I've got a trick or two up my sleeve." His arms turned into a sleeved pair of human arms to emphasize his point for a moment as he extracted a pouch of powder from his from. The floor extended upwards, like a fireman's ladder, to bring him up level with the Cockatrice, who stared at him wide eyed and obviously under some kind of magical or otherwise suppression.

His reached into the small bag in his hand and flicked a bit of the dust at the giant monster bird, a mystical sparkling aura shimmering in the air around the great fowl as he did so.

The effects weren't obvious, at first, and even Gaul leaned in for a moment, a little concerned something had gone wrong. But then the cockatrice clucked. It wasn't the sharp cluck of a chicken, but it certainly sounded surprised. Then it did it again, and before Yggdrasil's eyes, the giant bird began to grow even larger. Not only that, the aroma of warm, perfectly cooked flesh wafted over the sort of over or under cooked scents of the rest of the feast. It smelled of whatever ingredients the goddess of the forest preferred, no matter how rare, exotic or impossible to obtain, for that is how the Cockatrice would now taste. Oddly enough, the bird, now triple it's original size and somehow cooked on the spot, was still ALIVE. Gaul laughed to himself as his mad combination of different effects had finally worked! While Yggdrasil worked hard to make the farms, he had been making this powder. It was as much to test his knowledge of alchemy and challenge himself to use it outside game knowledge as it was to impress and gain the further approval of his new godly ally. It had taken quite a bit of trial and error, not to mention some expensive ingredients, even for him, but the results were worth it!

First, he had started with a Chef's Eye Potion, a potion that made any food one ate smell and taste like the most delicious version of that meal they could. In game, it had just provided a buff that increased the effects of other foods. He had modified and improved the effects to, instead of affecting the person ingesting the potion, but to actively change whatever food it was used on. That had taken some work, and the end result was almost nothing alike the original potion, so he didn't know why he had even bothered. Still, he forged on, not yet done! The next bit was the enlarging effect. Not a terribly difficult thing to accomplish, but to make it permanent and not interfere with the other effects of his strange new creation took a bit of time to work out. Lastly, the Live and Nearly instantaneous cooking effect! THIS was the most work, by far, and it took the full range of his understanding of magic, combining a teensy bit of necromancy, a large amount of chemical and alchemical knowledge, and more than a little luck. The creature was cooked, cleanly and without pain, all the way through, he hoped. In fact, the creature it was used on wouldn't feel any pain, even if it were carved up and served in pieces. It would live for a few hours, but after that the effects of being cooked meat would kick in and death would be near instantaneous.

He called his new creation, Alchemist's Feast, but he wasn't entirely done yet. He wanted to get his allies review of the powder first, see if it was to her tastes. This was the test run, after all. His first problem with it was that it was a powder, and he hated powders. He needed to figure out how to make it liquid or applicable by slime. Secondly, he hadn't had time to test it on anything as large as a cockatrice, so he was unsure if the spell would hold over such a large creature. Well, hold might not be the most accurate phase. Maybe...stay constant might be better. Such a large creature might not be cooked all the way through, or one part might enlarge more than another, but if he used more powder he risked dangerous results. Another reason he needed make it a liquid...

Still, he turned with a flourish to his ally, "There! One Cooked, Live, Giant Cockatrice for you to enjoy! Hopefully, once the farm is up and running, your hunger will be properly sated, by real cooks, not just my bad programming." He laughed again, a little nervous this time, waiting for her to dig in. He was obviously very eager to see her reaction.
________

Meanwhile, down in the woods approaching the outer perimeter of the tower, the group led by Mirusa advanced through the Fey forest. The hunting done by the automatons had made the area thin of danger, so they advanced with little difficulty, the only thing to slow them down was some of the sentient/semi-sentient plants and bit of fairy nonsense here and there. Their first obstacle came in the form of the newest Guardian of the tower and also Gauls latest sentient creation, made from the cage that held Yggdrasil and more than a little inspired by her presence.

Rosaline stepped out onto the overgrown path the torch bearing mob was following. She stood tall, not as tall as a lord, but close. Her body was a strange mesh of metal and wood, the shining, silver intertwined inseparably with the wood in a wonderfully natural looking way. She was lithe and gorgeous, her six arms all grasping a different weapon. From top left to bottom right, she held a small stave, a sword, a whip, a shield, an arrow and a crossbow. Each was made of the same metal and wood as her body, and were enchanted with a number of special abilities. Interestingly, she was a fully living being, both the metal and wood being a part of her body. She had the inclination of an automaton, being a bit 'wooden' at times, but she was very rapidly developing an impish personality, no doubt due to the influence of the few woods she was the guardian of, as well as the nature of her creation. She was also equipped with a long flowing cape that had a great deal of it's own powers, assisting in her 'ranger' like ways.

Her job was to monitor the perimeter, making her the effective 'floor one' guardian now.

"Cease and Desist your advancement in this direction. None of you have authorization to cross conflict line Alpha." She chimed as she emerged, her features beautiful, but very alien.

The party was taken aback at first, obviously they had never seen such a strange and mystifying creature, let alone have it speak very clearly to them. They were expecting fey guardians, but this?

One man, braver than the rest, or maybe just stupider, shouted back, "What do you mean 'authorized'? Do you work for that Fey monster?!"

"Classified Information Request Denied. Turn back and - Go - Home - or I will be forced to engage in defensive measures to prevent further advancement." Rosaline waved the stave in the air before her and the letters of "Go Home" literally appeared before her like a neon billboard, flashing in the air silently for a few moments before they vanished like glowing smoke. She watched them intently with her sapphire eyes. Both eyes were slightly smaller than fist sized sapphires, a perfectly twinned pair of yellow imperfections acting as her pupils.

The group looked around at each other, unsure what to make of this strange...thing. One man asked further, "What are you? Who are you to stop us?"

"Processing Information Request. Unclassified Files Approved. Present Model: Rosaline Current Role: Guardian. Current Task: Repel All Sentient and Dangerous Creatures." She chimed back, the second part sounding a little more happy to be introducing herself. She even made a little curtsy, sticking her sword into the ground for a moment to lift the edge of her cape.

[SakuraHanaryuu]

*As Sakura walked in in her full immensity her ravenous eyes examined the colossal spread of food Gaul had provided for her supper, her crimson orbs grew wide as the feasts smells and variety teased her senses. And then she witnessed the cockatrice being engorged and cooked simultaneously, Gaul barely had time to explain what it was before Sakura lifted herself up atop her tail and grabbed the mighty bird. A Chickatrice was the size of ten men, a cockatrice the size of twenty, and this one was the size of Sixty, which amounted to six times her body size, but she handled the huge animal like a toy, her maw stretching many times wider than her body, as she swallowed the beast whole with grace and ease, tossing her head back to muscle the whole thing down into her midsection with a single gigantic gulp, saliva dripping from her jaws and mixing with the juices of the finest of fowl meats, her twelve eyes rolled up as her tongue licked up said saliva from her breasts and neck as the beast began to squirm and fight its devourer, a huge, monstrous grin setting across the Goddess's jaws, as she ground her immense hips over a stomach so engorged that it lifted her body off the ground.*

"Aaah, Gaul you have indeed come to satisfy this goddess's raging gluttony", *Yggdrasil licked her mighty chops as she rolled back onto her feet and lifted the tremendous hill called her belly up simply by leaning back, though just barely bringing the enormous tightly packed gut off the ground, with every step it bounced, glorping and gurgling as she somehow retained a gait of elegance even with such over indulgence crammed into her body. She manifested a great throne of supreme design beside Gauls own with a seat with room to let her hind quarters graciously expand, she intended to grow over this throne, as she began to casually tuck into the other morsels present, every mouthful being packed into her godlike assets, her breasts and rump swelling with each guzzle of delectable platters*, "I did wonder if you could keep up your end of the bargain, but my doubts have been...m-hmhmm...shall we say, appeased?" *she stated with a tone laced with a lustful growl as she kneaded her numerous bloated curves with many different claws, one of the lesser wyrms sliding down her neck and into her growing bosom*, "The Chickatrice ranch will secure surplus Fowl, ensuring my gluttony is consistently over-sated, assuming you can provide more feasts like this one."

*The goddess had no quarrel indulging herself with the would be adventurers, snapping up the whole team with a single chomp of her insatiable jaws and gulping them all down with gusto*, "GLP-ulp, aaah yes...well then 'my' lord, shall we continue discussing the future of our relationship? I am now known to the public, and when a goddess shows herself, her enemies are often quick to respond...m-hmhm enemies that would make for fine dining as well, Hohoho!", *Sakura licked her thickly padded lips still thinking about future meals. The hunger of the goddess was not to be underestimated*


-=-=-=-=-
*Outside at the Feywoods core layline (the middle point through the woods between the opening to the Crimson Tower) Mirusa and her mob of supporters were still at their standoff up until their bowmen decided to test the creature and fire off a volley of arrows and crossbow bolts. Mirusa herself would remain with the others ready to intercept if this creature tried to charge them down*

*When the arrows clashed, Sakura became aware of the situation, green arcs of soft lightning crawling up her branches*, "Hmm, you transformed that odd cage into a living creature...quite lovely...is she capable of consuming her oponents? If not these interlopers would make a fine tribute for my next brood of knights, there is skill in that lord monk...and her curvature pleases me", *it seems even after such a gigantic feast, Yggdrasil would stuff herself beyond her limits. With a snap of her claws she summoned another knight, though this one was far more unique than the others. Instead of branches, her head bore a wide mushroom cap, she was brown with green markings like those of an anaconda, at her thickly padded hips were two wooden sickles with purple blades, she was well thickened, beyond the limits of a human, but no-where near as engorged as Yggdrasils godly curves.* "Rin, there is a scuffle at the Fey-line, report what transpires there, you may feed as you please, but take nothing from this table until you return".

*The assassin Rin bowed to Yggdrasil, a cape of leathery leaves forming around her entire body from shoulder down, and similar leaves falling out to hang from her wide rimmed cap shrouding her entirely, even leaves covering her tail which poked out behind her, she would step back twice, very diligently before raising her head and turning to leave, at which point she practically flew out the window, her cape flairing out like wings, as she 'did-a-batman' gliding down to the meadow on the dark, leathery cape-wings", *Its a good thing you wrote that spell to include my bloodline in the towers calculations, I would've hated having to input blood from my entire brood...there's thousands of them you know, it would've taken months to sort them all through.*

*Rin was a capable ranger as well as a masterful Druid like all Fey-knights, she darted through the forest like a bat out of hell, sometimes literally flying through the branches, with speed she snatched several animals from the tree lines but nothing so large as to slow her down. She would be sucking down a mid sized python as she arrived at the conflict site, her belly mildly squirming beneath her cloak as she settled on her haunches in the tree line, her tail claw helping her balance out on a sturdy Cacao tree. As she watched diligently the unfolding event*