You are the Apocalypse: Perditor

[Inevitability]

Spoiler: Saving throws

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(1d20+2)[6]
(1d20+2)[8]
(1d20+2)[6]
(1d20+2)[3]
(1d20+2)[14]
(1d20+2)[16]
(1d20+2)[15]
(1d20+2)[14]
(1d20+2)[18]
(1d20+2)[9]
(1d20+2)[9]

The blast of frigid northwind envelops the lights, which wink out one by one. As they do so, a now eerily familiar greenish goo bursts from them, freezing quickly and falling down as semi-solid snow.

A few seconds after the storm has died down, another light appears above Perditor's snow cloud. From it, a resigned voice speaks in Common:

"Most impressive, Ravager: you are truly a majestic opponent. We are prepared to offer you this city and its remaining halfling population if granted four hours to evacuate our assets. Should you decline, note that we will bolster the city's natural defenses to the best of our ability, considerably worsening your chances of successful conquest."

Spoiler: OOC

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Fun fact: voidmind lantern archons are allowed under the rules.

[Blackhawk748]

Perditor scratches his chin as the snow falls around him. He really doesnt like whoever these beings are, but he also doesnt know what they are capable of. He flots there for a short while, ruminating.

"I accept your terms."

[Inevitability]

The sphere of light disappears again. Perditor waits.

After a while, the monster feels a slight rumbling shake the ground. Somewhere from the city, sounds of collapsing stone and breaking wood are audible. Moments later, what seems to be a giant, fleshy, fleshamorphous thing rises from the city, a platform-like object carrying multiple humanoids on its upper side. Reddish clouds rise to conceal it, and the thing begins moving seawards.

The light sphere re-appears.

"Allow us to remind you not to intervene. While waiting for the last thirty minutes of your inactivity to end, feel free to destroy this pawn: its use has ran out."

The small orb floats about a feet in front of Perditor, taking no action and speaking no more words.

[Blackhawk748]

Perditor closes his claw around the small Orb crushing it, imagining it was the speaker's head. He shakes the goop off of his claws and waits patiently. He doesnt trust these creatures, but hes not sure what they are, or what he can do about them. All he knows is that they take great and majestic creatures, like Griffins, and turn them into some sort of disgusting, tentacled, monstrosity.

They will pay for that.

Spoiler

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Yes, Perditor is being judgmental of Mind Flayers

[Inevitability]

Time passes, and the cloud-shrouded monstrosity disappears over the horizon, flying off to the southwest.

A few beings, too small to truly make out at this distance, seem to leave the city and begin moving away from it. They seem to be distressed.

Finally, the half-hour ends.

[Blackhawk748]

Perditor shifts back to his true form and rushes the city.

[Inevitability]

The city is rushed!

Perditor meets little resistance (halfling or otherwise) approaching the city. The gates appear to have been opened, and halflings are stumbling out. Upon seeing Perditor most of them turn and run, though not necessarily back into the city.

Upon entering it, Perditor notices that many of the buildings have been damaged: bricks have crumbled, support beams snapped in half, and in some cases it appears as if patches of the roof have been completely eaten away by some acid. The damage appears fresh: in some cases red droplets of some liquid can still be seen eroding the materials.

In the city center, which is reached still without any significant resistance, there stands what once must've been an imposing building. Now it's a heavily damaged ruin, rubble littering the ground near it, with a jagged hole within what once must've been the building's insides.

[Blackhawk748]

Perditor decides to look around, cautiously

Spoiler: OOC

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Spot Roll
(1d20+18)[30]

[Inevitability]

No dangers seem to be present in the ruins (aside from a cowering halfling that's quickly eliminated). However, deep in the pit Perditor can see glints of movement.

[Blackhawk748]

Perditor shifts to his flight form and slowly, and cautiously descends

[Inevitability]

A larger room is revealed, reeking of rot and raw meat. Its floor is slick with some nonspecific fluid, smelling not like blood but looking a lot like it.

Nothing moves, but there is a narrow passage leading further down. If Perditor were to assume his humanoid form, he might just be able to squeeze through.

[Blackhawk748]

Perditor growls and shrinks. He hates this form, but he must do it. He creeps slowly down the passage keeping an eye out.

Spoiler: OOC

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Spot
(1d20+18)[26]

[Inevitability]

After a few twists and turns, Perditor comes across another room. Its contents are most grisly.

A number of smashed and partially corroded devices, some of them possessed of an organic rather than mechanical look, are located near the room's edges. At a glance, it's clear they're completely useless, no matter their previous purpose.

Dozens of halfling corpses lie piled up towards the room's back, most of them appearing quite fresh. After taking a closer look, it seems below them is a pit filled with even more corpses, further raising the total number of victims to the point that it's hard to estimate at a glance.

All of them appear to have had their heads cut open: even the few visible skulls have the top sliced off.

Apart from the larger pile of corpses, a number of halfling corpses with the now-familiar slime tentacles extending from their eye sockets, ears, or nose lie. These noticeably don't have their heads cut open; rather, their cause of death seems to have been throat constriction. The fact that it's apparently their own tentacles that constricted them is somewhat disconcerting, though.

And finally, cowering behind one of the dead tentacle-halflings is a living one, clearly confused and scared. Either it doesn't notice Perditor spotting it, or it's trying to pretend he didn't.

[Blackhawk748]

Perditor points at the halfling "You there, what happened here?"

[Inevitability]

The halfling shrieks, collapses, and begins weeping blueish-green tears. They merge seamlessly with the slime that's already splattered everywhere.

"Don't kill me! I'll tell you everything! Everything!"

Taking a few wheezing breaths, the halfling stands up. Perditor can see that the fluid is not only leaking from his eyes, but his nose and mouth as well. The halfling's neck shows serious bruising.

"They... the illithid... They've been here for decades, maybe longer. I don't know, I was brought here a mere five years ago, then immediately poured in the skull of one of their victims.

They were subtle at first. Killing the homeless, the elderly, those who wouldn't be missed. Sometimes, I was the one who had to do the deed. But recently, they grew more daring, telling us how soon their plans would be complete, how soon their god would awaken.

Then a few hours ago, they told us to... to destroy everything, move all brains to the fleshcloud they'd been growing here for years, and then... then kill ourselves. And I almost did so, I remember my own tentacle squeezing my throat. But by chance, I survived.

And when I woke up, they were gone. Gone from here, but from my head as well. I tried to escape, but then I saw you, the Ravager they'd warned us about, the one who killed a thousand halflings."

[Blackhawk748]

Perditor grunted "Looks like they have no room to talk. They've probably killed more than me over the years." he looked thoughtful for a moment "Who is there god?"

[Inevitability]

At Perditor's first remark, the halfling hesitatingly nods, apparently not sure whether Perditor's comment was indignant or jealous.

"Their god th- they call the Cerebral Divinity. All... all this is to feed it, have it grow."

The last few words are accompanied with a gesture towards the pile of decerebrated corpses.

[Blackhawk748]

"Well, well.....its a hungry beast then..... But why all the secrecy? With their power they could just rule in the open." Perditor curls his lips in disgust looking at the corpse hole "Such a waste."

[Inevitability]

"The masters, they didn't want anyone to find out. No mortals, no monsters, and especially no gods."

[Blackhawk748]

Perditor smiled "So they fear the gods.... thats interesting"

[Inevitability]

The halfling seems to be more than a bit worried at Perditor's lack of additional questions. Sweat trickles down its forehead, except rather than sweat it's more of the watery greenish slime.

"Yes, yes, very interesting, always thought so myself. Can I go now?"

[Blackhawk748]

"No" Perditor looks down the corpse hole again, gazing at such wastefulness for a minute or so. "What are you?" Perditor says, not looking at the halfling.

[Inevitability]

"The illithids have never named my kind. They grow us in their hidden city, and move us to their secret bases from there. There, we are inserted in recently debrained bodies, and forced to serve our creators."

[Blackhawk748]

"So the halfling you are in is dead then? Then why have you all kill yourselves?"

[Inevitability]

"We were no longer useful, and taking all of us with them would encumber their fleshcloud too much, so they had us kill ourselves. They couldn't risk us regaining our free will with who knows how much information on them. ...Which I guess was what happened after all."

The halfling smirks for a moment.

[Blackhawk748]

"Free will? So you were mind controlled by the Illithids?"

[Inevitability]

"I was! All of my kind are! I do not know whether the control stopped because they left, because I almost died, or because they consciously broke the link, but now it has ended."

[Blackhawk748]

"Strange.... so what will you do now?"

[Inevitability]

"I'll just... flee, I suppose. Get somewhere where the illithids won't ever find me again. I look just like a halfling, I'll be able to hide amongst them."

The halfling still seems nervous, but less so now.

[Blackhawk748]

"Do you know where the illithids are going with their...cloud?"