forum "Loud Thieves, Clumsy Princesses, Kleptomaniac Witches and Pyromaniacal Knights"

Started April 25, 2023 by @lord-of-the-carnival group

tune

The being stares at Aibhe before plucking the book out of their hands and riffling through it before tossing it back at them.

"My apologies. None of those will work." it says calmly.

It looks back at Caladium.

"Not in any immediate danger, at the very least. But the voice is right. You're not fine."

It then turns and "looks" up into the tree curiously.

"Do you plan on stabbing me, Naveil?" it asks curiously. "If so, you may want to calm yourself first. It would be a shame to miss."

How the fuck is everything hearing me?! I don’t know-! Let me kill them. Let me protect you. No-

Caladium hides behind their wings, continuing to back away until they bump into a tree trunk, letting out a panicked chirp and flying up into the tree they bumped into.

Naveil resisted the urge to shudder. Was this thing a… Redmalus? It didn't exactly look like one, but…
He shook the thought away. It's just some trickery. Some mirage. He wasn't exactly helping to reassure himself, but it wasn't something he'd had to do often. Not at home, at least.
Naveil glanced down at his dagger, the potential-Redmalus, then back to his weapon. He tucked the blade back into its pocketed sheath, but he kept his hand on the hilt. The other strangers were still beneath him. He'd accept looking weak to one enemy, but a whole group? He'd rather chew his own leg off. He spoke again, his usual snark masking his very-much rattled confidence.
"So what if I was? I don't miss often."

"It is simple for any manner of being created as omniscient in the Writerverse, Caladium and brain-friend. It is simply trivial for a being like me anyways. The reason this and every other plane still stands is because the Elders see you as amusements. Against the staggering might of the Old Gods, what chance stands the mind of a single broken mortal?" the entity replies to Caladium.

It turns back to Naveil again.

"I am not a Redmalus. And this is no trickery, nor is it a mirage, or any form of mind fooling illusion. What you see is what I am. The effects I have upon the world may be lesser compared to Nyarlathotep or Yog-Sothoth, but I am still one of them. And you know what manner of being they be. As for missing, that may be true. However, are you certain you can keep track of where I end up? You are less confident than you seem. I can see it in those meagre mortal eyes. You are scared." it says, picking the man apart verbally. It takes a step and appears up in the tree, appearing to have just ignored any laws of reality for the sake of its own motives.

Caladium stays silent for a few moments, and stops trembling. They jump down from their tree gracefully, and stare at the creature, their expression void of any emotion. They slowly pull their knife from its sheath.

(Personality switch ✨)

Naveil straightened up on his branch, backing down. It's not running away, it's a tactical retreat.
A cold chill ran through his entire body. He felt some type of instinct taking over him, his logic and reasoning shutting down.
Danger! Danger! Fight! Move! Do something – Anything!
He held his ground, though it wasn't through any sort of bravery. The truth is, the supposedly-not-a-Redmalus was blocking off most of his escape routes with its presence. Just looking at it didn't feel right. It was a congealing mass of melted shadows and face and… ugh. There was an awful feeling in the pit of his stomach, and his skin tingled. He spat again.
Naveil's voice quavered more than it had in a good few years, and his snark was fading. Fast.
"And… what makes you think that?"

Maria knew something was out of place the moment Caladium arrived. In all of about five seconds, she had analyzed them to the point where she probably knew what they would do next before they even did it. So she wasn't surprised when they pulled a knife out. She quickly pulled her knife out and knocked the knife out of Caladium's hand before they could even react. Maria had Caladium on the ground, neutralized, before anybody could even blink. "Lovely day out here, isn't it?" she asked, knife to Caladium's neck.

Caladium glares at Maria, clearly shocked but showing no sign of fear. “Lovely, indeed. Now will you let me up? I wasn’t threatening you.” He glances at the readers and mouths what an idiot.

The being moves and slips behind Naveil, a cold hand resting on his shoulder.

"Your voice. It lacks the volume or tone it had before. And your skin, it has goosebumps. Your mind is racing and you're sweating. The sky makes you scared, does it not? As do I. You know who I am. What I know, what I can do. You know. And you don't want to. But you do, and that makes you terrified because you know my titles and how I earned them. . ." it whispers to Naveil. "You are terrified. There is no denying it."

"Oh darling," Maria said to Caladium, "you weren't threatening me, you were threatening yourself," she turns to whisper in their ear, "i know about your problem. there is a simple way to fix it. play nice and i might fix it for you." Maria smirks, knowing she had just shaken Caladium and rattled their bones.

Caladium blinks a few times, obviously shaken, then regains their composure. “What- what problem?”

Don’t let her get rid of me. I’ll die- I know. Let me out, I’ll sort it out with her. …Alright. Thank you.

They shake their head, their innocent expression returning. “I don’t have any problems. I’m perfectly fine. Now… will you please let me up?”

Naveil was out of the tree in a heartbeat. He landed - barely - on his feet and looked up at the most-definitely-a-Redmalus. What were they supposed to be weak to again? Damn it, Naveil- you didn't pay attention then, did you? His hands were shaking, from… excitement? Not fear, excitement. Definitely not scared to the spine.
He risked a glance over at the others in the clearing, this being his first proper look at all of them. Fighting amongst themselves, it seemed. He liked that. What he did not like was the swirling mass of misted shapes- like he was being hunted down by a cloud. Another spit.
"What in the Bloodreach do you want from me?"

_{(The Bloodreach is just his world's version of hell. Think about a lake and then replace the water with blood.)}