Open Chronicles Monster for Sale!

[Infernal]

There is one thing you have to understand about Cerak At'Thul if you want to survive. It holds no love for you.

Alleys reek of secrets, the kind of secrets that hold no satisfaction, only death. Cobbled streets have seen monstrous acts, silent in their inanimate prisons. Shadows are not nearly as empty as one would hope, nor are they as peaceful. Cerak At'Thul is a place where the wicked thrive, and the innocent are pawns in machinations of infernal intent.

On this day, a monster is to be sold, created by a nefarious group of wizards known as the Violet Sphere. Unscrupulous in their practices, their hearts are filled with greed and a dark desire to create abominations of nature. They have forged within their terrible pools of ebony darkness, a monster they feel will be especially valued by the more unsavory members of society. What first must be done though, is to appoint someone to risk their life to transport their monstrosity to the auction house, and so it was they appointed Calibar, hoping that this time would finally spell his doom…

The cage rattled and bucked, a deep, guttural growl emanating from within. With a canvass blanket thrown over the metal enclosure, none could see what was inside it, only hear the unnatural noises coming from it.

"Calm down now, it's gonna be all right. We're gonna take a nice ride to the auction house, so you can find a new family." The cage rattled once again, and the one armed caretaker of the murderous creation took a few steps back before sighing in exasperation. "This damn job is going to be the end of me, I just know it."

With the mule pulling the cart, Calibar made his way to the auction house, wary of whatever might be lurking to try and accosted him.

 

[Faelin K'Abveirin]

Cerak At'Thul. It looked as dreary as the last time he visited this place. Same grey old stone, same grey old people. And for why this silversmith was here. Well. Faelin was already cursing himself over silently. Cerak At'Thul wasn't a place to innocently idle about unless you wanted to get shanked. Perhaps his old partners were still around? Ah nevermind.

Some whispers in the back-alleys didn't go unnoticed from the elf's keen ears. Some interesting, or rather... unique ware is going to show up at the auction house? Ho-ho. Well, it might be worth to take look. It wasn't that far either way.

 

[Tera Lynx]

Scents, smells, movement, light, dark, sounds, voices, words, a rush of humanity. It was a rush that she had not felt for a very long time... or had she? perhaps in her past life? It mattered not. These humanoid creatures, they held little promise of useful essence to give the swarm.

She stalked through the crowd, a mysterious figure among many mysterious figures, a black cloak hidden among other black cloaks. Nobody wanted to be recognized her, least of all herself. She weaved her way through the crowd. She didn't know it, but she was nearing the trade district, so far she had been wandering aimlessly through the crowd, seeing what bits of information she could get.

A small portion of the swarm resided in a recently built hive well outside the city. It used an old ruin as its base and materials, they cleared out all the monsters and added their material to the swarm. They came from the mainland to expand their reach and influence across Arethil.

Havilah wore her cloak tightly around her with her hood over her head. She arrived at the auction without knowing what it was. People were gathered in front of a stage as if for some ritual. To fit in she joined the, perhaps she could learn something here.

 

[Infernal]

Upon the wooden stage set up for the event, there came the visage of a female figure, draped in so many layers of veiled fabric that it was impossible to tell any basic features of her. When she spoke, her words didn't seem muffled, but were in fact the silky smooth liquid that caressed the mind and made one feel comfortable, even in such a place as Cerak At'Thul.

"Welcome to today's auction. We thank you for choosing Cerak At'Thul's leading auctioneer company, the Demon's Bargain, for your needs today. All currencies are accepted, including damned souls, the tears of orphans and widows, cursed objects and tomes of flesh written in virgin blood." Raising one hand, the curtain was raised and Calibar stood there, Rainbow braid across his shoulder as he prepared to pull the curtain.

"We have an exciting piece for you today, my friends, as the Violet Sphere has created a new monstrosity to unleash upon Arethil. From what we've been told, it is sure to be an especially dangerous threat to anyone who practices the magical arts. Now please, pull the cover so that our bidders can get a closer look at this creature." There was something of a smile on her face, pulled upwards as if from unseen strings, and Calibar did as he was instructed.

The beast snarled and snapped in the direction of the audience, illiciting several gasps and interested bouts of murmuring from the crowd.

"Known as 'Mage Feaster', this specimen is a grand creation. It has seven wiry tendrils coming off its oval-shaped head, which are used for sensing heat, magic and movement as well as draining the magical energy from both living and non living targets as sustenance. It is a quadruped with naturally blue scales, which are known to change color to allow for seamless camouflage when hunting. Hundreds of teeth reside within its mouth, able to regrow new ones and accompanied by a jaw with enough strength to snap a femur like a twig. Weighing at approximately seven hundred and thirty four pounds, it can maintain a top speed of sixty miles an hour for at least half an hour, able to go without food or water for a week before going hungry or thirsty. If you wish for it to reproduce, then you're in luck, as once a month it finds a small pool to deposit a sack of eggs, which can spawn around seven to eight more of these beauties."

The prospect of a monster able to reproduce asexually was exciting, enticing the crowd. With so many eyes on this blind, wild creature, the bidding started on one thousand gold coins.

 

[Faelin K'Abveirin]

Inside the auction house, Falin meandered towards some of the sidelines, crossing over his arms and leaning against one of the wooden pillars that supported the roof above them.

I see now. Those were some odd creatures, some kind of abominations being produced. Where though? And by what means. Surgical? No, not if it reproduces like that, Magical perhaps?
Curious.

 

[Tera Lynx]

Her reptilian eyes snapped up when she heard the primal roar. The creature in the cage, a beast of apex slaughter, claws built for tearing, teeth made for shredding and jaws for crushing. This beast showed promise, she could smell its essence as if it were calling out to her, it held power that can be added to the swarm.

Underneath her cloak she flexed her fingers, extending and retracting the needle like claws of her lower arms. That creature was fighting, struggling for freedom from its cage... They would sow carnage should the beast be freed... Perhaps she could summon the swarm to aid her, her claws were not strong enough to break those bars, but the mandibles of the Swarm Devourers could tear the bars asunder.

The strength of this 'Mage killer' will make the swarm powerful indeed. But she also had to consider their goal... It was wise to bring strength to the swarm, as a race they may struggle to find acceptance among the other races, they may need to fight for that acceptance. Unless more sentient creatures were inducted into the swarm, it may be impossible to show the other races their true intent.

But until then... This beast needed freedom. She advanced through the crowd, traveling close to the wall while still keeping a low profile. Bids were being called out as the auction began, and Havilah brushed past Faelin K'Abveirin .