Bad to the Throne, page 41
part #15 of The Good Guys Series
So we hurried along.
And along.
As we went, we passed by off-chutes, almost all of which were tunnels angled down, sometimes at startling degrees. Most of them sent back sounds of digging or mining back to us.
“There’s a lot of work happening here,” I said.
“Indeed.”
“Why all the tunnels?”
“There is a search for something sacred.”
“Under Glaton?”
“Yes. This city is special for many reasons, but chief amongst them is the auspicious location.” She stopped and patted my chest. “I must stop myself before I spill what is not mine to tell. All will be revealed in time, likely very soon if the will of the Empress are to be fulfilled.”
“I’m just curious about—”
She smiled and turned so fast that her long hair whipped across my face. I had to do that awkward tongue-spitting thing to get her hair out of my mouth.
After ten or twenty more minutes of speed-walking down the tunnel, we came to a space that held a large door in a heavy stone archway. The space itself was marginally more open than the tunnel, which really gave it the air of a waiting room.
Once again, though, Maelith wasn’t waiting. She pushed the door open, shoving someone on the other side out of the way.
“What is the meaning of this?” Barked a robed figure in an inhuman voice.
107
The room was a dome-shaped space, about twenty feet tall in the center. A group of crude glowstones had been loaded into a rope basket and hung down about five feet from the top, casting an uneven, eerie light around the space. Under that point was an altar, a heavy slab of stone holding a series of thick tomes, some bottles, a small amphibious creature in a bowl, and what looked like someone’s unfinished lunch.
In front of the altar was the robed figure who’d yelled at us. A larger person with odd proportions, their face hidden by a huge hood on their almost impossibly black luxurious robes.
More human-looking individuals surrounded the altar, all wearing less impressive black robes. Everyone was now looking at Maelith and me.
Maelith slipped between the robed humans and went straight to the figure in the middle.
“Harbinger,” she said softly, but her voice still echoed off the stone walls, “this is one who has been instrumental in bringing us success. Regina wishes him brought into the fold.”
I felt the eyes of the ‘Harbinger’ on me, even though I couldn’t see a damn thing under its hood. I gave a friendly wave.
“He is the duke?” The harbinger asked, voice harsh.
“Yes.”
“He is who did what was done last night?”
“Yes, Harbinger.”
I stood there as the Harbinger stared at me, and there was a palpable feeling to having their gaze on me. As if the Harbinger was somehow able to see through the surface of my person to whatever was underneath. Maybe even seeing to my character sheet. I wondered if there might be something there that would give me away.
Almost on instinct, I pulled up my character sheet to take a peek.
108
Montana - Lvl 38 Burgmann
Traits
Race: Royal Fallen
Height: 6’5”
Weight: 416 lbs
Eye Color: Hazel
Hair Color: Blonde
Renown: 525 - The Hero of Osterstadt … 1200 - The Stranger … 2100 - The Hero of the Empire
Statistics
HP: 1462
STAM: n/a
MP: 79,240
Active Effects: Frightful Presence
Attributes
Strength: 106
Agility: 60
Dexterity: 60
Constitution: 104
Wisdom: 29
Intelligence: 37
Charisma: 37
Luck: 42
Skills
Riding – improvised (Lvl 1)
Falling (Lvl 4)
Animal Handling (Lvl 5)
Investigate (Lvl 1)
Harvesting (Lvl 5)
Swords (Lvl 61)
Unarmed Combat (Lvl 18)
Axes (Lvl 57)
Large Weapon Throwing (Lvl 28)
Jump (Lvl 6)
Stealth (Lvl 6)
Improvised Weaponry (Lvl 10)
Swimming (Lvl 18)
Spears (Lvl 62)
Warhammers (Lvl 31)
Light Armor (Lvl 8)
Heavy Armor (Lvl 18)
Fishing (Lvl 9)
Carving (Lvl 6)
Crafting (Lvl 5)
Wooden Weapon-Making (Lvl 1)
Skinning (Lvl 11)
Detect Traps (Lvl 45)
Lumberjack (Lvl 21)
Intimidation (Lvl 10)
Surveillance (Lvl 2)
Birding (Lvl 1)
Archery (Lvl 26)
Tracking (Lvl 24)
Fletching (Lvl 10)
Shield (Lvl 56)
Internal Monster Butchering (Lvl 10)
Digging (Lvl 8)
Politicking (Lvl 1)
Weaving (Lvl 1)
Campfire Cooking (Lvl 1)
Foraging (Lvl 5)
Staring at the Ceiling (Lvl 1)
Small Weapon Throwing (Lvl 9)
Swinging (Lvl 1)
Blushing (Lvl 1)
Asking Stupid Question (Lvl 2)
Advanced Furniture Deconstruction (Lvl 4)
Climbing (Lvl 22)
Abilities
Darkvision
The Sword of My Enemy is My Sword
Iron Will
Make An Entrance
Stand Tall
Regal Bearing
Rallying Cry
Art of Movement
Labyrinthine Recall
Detect Mimic
Indomitable
Swift Tracker
Veritasium
Detect Metals and Minerals
Tremorsense
Unbreakable Skeleton
Imperial Favor
House Scion
That’s not Pain
Battle Frenzy, Advanced
Using Your Head
Surge of Strength
Mana Well
Books of Blood
True Sight
Need A Weapon
Durable
Keep On Cutting
Savage Attacker
Into the Breach
Hold the Line
Flame Proof
Gastronomicon
Boons
Powerful Build (Mister Paul) - You are bigger than you look. For all strength roles, you are counted as one size category larger than you actually are.
Regeneration (Mister Paul) - Outside of combat, your body will repair rather quickly. Given enough time, it’s possible you will heal from nearly any wound.
Gift of Gab (Mister Paul) - Should you encounter a language you do not understand, as long as you hear at least three words of it, you will understand it, and speak it, perfectly.
Monstrous Companion (Typhon) - You have been gifted a companion from the god Typhon. Your companion is immortal, though if reduced to 0 HP, he will be forced to return in a different form, chosen at the whim of Typhon. You may absorb your companion for a temporary boost to your abilities, but the boost will only last until Typhon sends another companion your way.
Indicium
Coggeshall Heraldic Achievement -complete - You are granted permission to use family buildings as you see fit, granted control of family funds, granted permission to use the family name, granted permission to name an heir, granted permission to expand the family, granted permission to bestow aspects of the Coggeshall Heraldic Achievement. You gain ten levels in the skill Shield. You gain the ability Imperial Favor. You gain the ability House Scion.
Eona’s Blessing of the Spear - Eona blesses you with +10 spear, +7 swimming, +5 fishing, +10% movement in water, +3 Agility
Choice, Burghman - Martial skills advance double. You take less damage from all attacks as long as you are protecting at least one non-combatant. Gain bonus XP from protecting others.
Indicium of Imperial Prerogative: Magic - You are permitted to perform magic within the Empire of Glaton
Royal - You are identified as being of Royal Blood, and gain the abilities Stand Tall and Regal Bearing
Dungeon of the Ancients Indicium - You gain the following skills and/or abilities: Art of Movement, Labyrinthine Recall, Detect Mimic 20 ft, Detect Traps +45 levels, Swift Tracker, Veritasium, and Detect Metals and Minerals
Slayer: Death Bringer - As a living embodiment of death, know that you cause Frightful Presence. Your enemies now have a chance to be frightened when they are aware of you. You do an extra 10% damage to any creature below half health. Each death you cause brings you 1% of your health in return.
Slayer: Death Bearer - Congratulations on the slaughter. For each new entity you kill within the time limit, you receive an additional 5% XP. Your enemies now have a chance to be frightened even when they are not aware of you, but you are within 20 yards of them.
Slayer: Goblinbane, Scourge of Goblins - Congratulations on the slaughter. Goblins of all stripe fear you and whisper your name in the dark. You gain significantly more XP for killing goblins, you do bonus visceral damage to goblins, greater chance for dismemberment and brutality when killing goblins. Goblins are likely to flee rather than fight. It is possible goblins will worship you instead of fear you.
Slayer: Vampire - You are able to withstand the charms of the vampire. You are immune to being turned. You do bonus damage to vampires. Vampires are vulnerable to your fear effects.
Typhon’s Mark of the Beast - Typhon blesses you with +10 intimidation, tremorsense, labyrinthine recall, and +5 Strength.
Zothys’ Blessing of the Protector - You gain 25 levels in shield and +3 Constitution.
Eona’s Blessing of the Hunt - You receive +20 skill levels in Archery, +15 skill levels in tracking, +10 skill levels in fletching, +10% harder to detect while moving, +3 Dex
Eona’s Blessing of the Blend - Within your holding, you and your followers will be able to blend breeds and races together that might not be viable in any other situation.
Hero of the Empire - Gain 5 points in each attribute as long as you remain in good standing with the Empire. Gain bonus to reputation with content or better imperial citizens. Gain honorary Legion status - Pilus Prior. You gain free admission to the Arena. You may request one meeting with the Emperor per annum.
Underwatch Honorary Member - As long as you are a member in good standing, you gain two percent bonus to total health. You gain access to the realm under the city of Glaton.
Titles
Imperial Duke of Coggeshall
Prince of Eonneque
Fürst of Vreijuirag
Ducal heir of Old Lattimoore
Count of Duhamel
Count of Helgand
Count of Dunnismeer
Count of Whitelock
Count of Michelgrove
Count of Daroonga
Count of Braewood
Count of Kingshills
Count of Wolveshire
All lesser titles minimized.
Languages
Goblin
Imperial Common
Mahrduhmese
Infernal
Hobgoblin Battle Cant
Night Goblin
Ursusian
Lutra
Northern Kobold
Carchedonian
Undermountain Common
Draconic
Grey Veveridia
Plains Centaurese
Koäðemaarian
Base Ogrish
Ethusian
Chasoneintails
Classical Kronthian
Gradonthan
Bandertongue
The Old Tongue
Western High Common
Old Farthic
Zoonistic Pigdin Pidgin
Krzysźntwařżek
The Split Tongue
Grystyllym Frystlyn
Frandish
Spells
Lifeform Identification (Lvl 1)
Heal Other (Lvl 3)
Humas (Lvl 1)
Basic Object Identification (Lvl 3)
Tame - Greater (Lvl 1)
ManaBomb (Lvl 1)
109
I didn’t see anything that would make me seem…
“You are an interesting man,” the Harbinger said, approaching me. “You are a believer?”
“I am.”
“And you wish to join?”
“I do.”
“Do you know what it is we know?”
“Not yet.”
There was a pause.
“The right answer,” the Harbinger said, now standing directly in front of me, incredibly close. Its voice sounded harsh and unpleasant, its inhumanity nearly overwhelming. “Fetch him robes. We will begin.”
Allow me to preface this next bit with the simple explanation that my experiences with secret societies are rather limited. I have not been part of an overwhelming number of initiations or secretive ceremonies. That said, it really felt like the cult’s initiation was something that was designed by people who were interested in making a secret society feel like a perceived secret society.
I was given a robe which was far too small for me and wound up being much more along the lines of a hoodie on me. The hood was so tight on my head I was a little bit afraid I wasn’t going to be able to pull it off once the ritual initiation was done.
We stood around the harbinger and listened as he pontificated about change, greatness, secrecy, all the buzzwords. It was a whole lot of saying nothing, and kind of depressing in that way. As I listened to him ramble on, I started to feel like maybe this wasn’t the big evil we thought it was. That we had spent a lot of time and energy tearing ourselves apart to bring down what was a little more than a group of rich people cosplaying as secret, mysterious people who wore robes and met underground in their robes.
After a certain amount of saying what he needed to say, the Harbinger fell silent. He stood, arms akimbo, and acolytes came to him and pulled his robe off. It came in two pieces, one to the left and one to the right, revealing what the Harbinger truly was. Which was, and I believe this is the official, character sheet-approved term, fucking weird.
He looked like a bug and a cockroach had been thrown into a blender and then poured into a humanoid-esque mold. His entire body was covered in this nasty translucent brown chitin, kind of like an exoskeleton, but I didn’t really see any points where it hard hard ridges. It was almost like a semi-flexible material. He had two legs, that I could, see, but three arms. And his hands ended in three triangle shaped fingers, each tipped with a curved claw or talon. He had a head that looked more like a grasshopper’s kind of a wedge shape with big compound eyes. Except each part of the compound seemed to be made up of a smaller eyeball. It was off-putting, and the longer I looked on him, the more I wanted to close my eyes and forget I’d seen him.
“I come,” he said, “as the Harbinger. I come, bringing forth to this world what we seek, what you seek,” he said, his voice somehow growing larger now that he wasn’t pretending to be human any longer. As his true self, he’d swollen in size and grandeur.
“There is much that is left to be done, and the time has come. Do you wish to join us as we give birth to a new world in which we shall fertilize greatness by sowing the destruction of the current world here? Shall we go forth and invite the great traveler to come and cleanse the unclean, be-soiled horror that is Vuldranni, and make it so that it will be a fertile ground for greatness? Greatness!”
Everyone else was very much a yes. And I, because I was pretending, definitely crossed my fingers behind my back and said, “Yeah, I’m down. Let’s do it.”
The Harbinger nodded at us. He held out his weird arms and said, “I welcome you into the embrace. The traveler will come. We need but call and open the door.” Then he put his head down.
And that was kind of it, which was weird because it was all a little anticlimactic. There was no magical moment. No indicium granted. Not even like, an announcement to the group. I didn’t gain anything from being part of this. It was almost as if I was taking place in something that didn’t really have a part of this world attached to it. That it was world-adjacent. Because everything else in this world was part of the system. And yet, here was something that wasn’t. It felt weird.
I think everyone in my little group, my initiation class, if you will, all wanted something more. Because we all just stood there, waiting for a sign that there would be more coming. But it was clear that nothing more was coming, because the Harbinger turned his back to us and signaled to his underlings that they should bring him a new robe, which was not as impressive as the old one, which had clearly been designed to tear apart with a big reveal.
I just stood there for a second. The harbinger went back to looking at the things on the altar, writing things down in a language that, from where I could see, was about as different from any other writing style I had seen. Not just on Vuldranni, but in the Old World as well.
“The Harbinger,” I said., he stood up and looked at me.
“Novice, you have something to say?”
“Oh, I didn’t realize there were levels in this.”
“They are not levels per se,” he replied. “But you are new, are you not?”
“Sure. I just want to make sure I’m not, like, speaking out of turn.”
“No, no. You are an honored member of this group. I doubt we would have been able to accomplish what we have without you.”
“You said that we just need to open the door for the traveler. What did you mean by that?”
“There is a door. The traveler must be invited to come, else it will not be able to.”
“Is that door nearby?”
“Yes. It is what we search for, even now. Our members are spread out all over the city. For the door is here, under us. We just know not where.”
“I think I know,” I said.
“You do?” He asked.
