Agents of L.U.S.T.: Age of Myths - The Equinox Rite

You’re all gathered in a room. It’s filled with blinking computer banks, and a man sits in a swivel chair in the centre, reading something on one of the screen, apparently not noticing you.

You’ve been gathered together in this room – Vanek the Everrise, the demon who left his home over a woman, to wander the universe. Dame Pinkamina Palmer, not actually a Dame nor even human, but simply wearing that form for comfort in the rather small corridors of the L.U.S.T. headquarters (though she insists that she doesn’t really work there, she’s just staying there a little). Rhenh, the cute young faun-taur, barely of age and still looking for new experiences – to receive a mission.

The man in the chair swings around, revealing that he is both an owl-man and quite distinctly male, his hard cock having been forced back into a pair of loose pants that are quite obviously tented. He addresses you without bothering with formalities.

“Once again, a situation has arisen, where a world can be swung either into the welcoming bosom of sexual freedom, or against the rock of repression. This case is unusual, though. The opportunity arises, not from a twist in the history of the world or by the actions of another group, but by virtue of the world’s age. The various tribes of the world still live in an age where society is yet to harden down into a firm set of traditions, and so if you can change the traditions, and bring the various tribes together in mutual respect and inclusiveness, in several millennium’s time the world will be at harmony.

“Normally, this would be a momentous task, involving several years work without one misstep from any party, and made even harder because none of the tribes look like each other. There are centaurs, satyrs, humans and a reptilian species called the Sthosi all dwelling near each other. Given man’s track record with other races, even those from his own blood, we can safely say that this would end painfully for all involved.

“However, we have discovered a possibility. A magical alignment will be coming up soon, at the summer equinox, during which a specific section of land will be charged with magical energy. If a group of people were to gather on that ground, and fuck each other,” you see his tent visibly twitch “Then they would wind up with a type of charm on them. It wouldn’t remove any form of reasoning capacity from them, but it would make them more kindly disposed towards those with the same charm.

“The same event that provides us with an opportunity also provides us with a problem, though. In order not to disrupt the magical energies, which would both ruin the alignment we’re trying to use and quite possibly destroy a large chunk of the planet, you have to be put in at a specific time where the energy’s flux allows for multiversal travel. This means you’ll be arriving five days, almost to the hour, before the alignment.”

He presses a few buttons on his chair. A screen descends before you, and a wall swivels around to reveal a trio of large backpacks, designed to appear like they’re made of plant fibres and poorly-treated hide. There’s also a large tent.

“The backpacks contain a variety of weapons cum tools, a map of the area, supplies for five days, and a sleeping bag. The tent will fit all three of you, assuming Dame Palmer remains in that form. The screen will give you an overview of the races, from what we've gathered from a few cursory searches before the alignment was detected.”

Sure enough, the screen starts to show a looping slideshow, each with a picture, a title and a few dot points...

Spoiler: Humanity

Most advanced civilisation – lives in villages of wood and turf huts, with a large central house for the King or similar. See technology in image.

Most xenophobic race.

Normal human anatomy.

Humans of this locality are ruled by a king and a druidic caste, with the king making all decisions (though normally on the advice of a druid).

Spoiler: Satyrs

The tribe lives in several areas scattered throughout the northern forest. They tend not to take life too seriously, as shown by the hunter in the picture holding a wine jug rather than his bow.

They look like normal humans, except with goat legs and horns.

The tribe is ruled by a council, consisting of a chief, a seer and a chief hunter.

Spoiler: Centaurs

The tribe lives a nomadic existence, roaming across the plain.

They are lead by a chief, who is chosen for his or her skill.

They hold themselves somewhat above other species, but are willing to recognise their flaws.

Spoiler: Sthosi

Village is located on an island in the lake. Most buildings are made of reeds, but there is a wooden temple built on high ground.

Race is cold-blooded and reptilian, producing eggs rather than live young (therefore lacking breasts) and has genital slits. Their scales are normally brightly coloured, and they are quite short.

They have a religion-centric culture, and crest colour is believed to tie into caste.

Once you’re done watching the slideshow, you pick up your backpacks. The birdman flips another switch, there’s a flash of many-coloured lights and a disorienting rush, and then you’re standing in a small clearing, in a forest of thin trees that sway in the gentle breeze that’s blowing now.

The ground is covered in tall grass, though, and to the south you can hear the trickle of running water, though the sound is faint. Looking up, the sky is clear except for a few scattered clouds and deep blue. You can smell wine and sex in the air, though the scent is old and faded.



What do you do first? Get your bearings? Start searching? Set up a basecamp?

 

"Finally! Somewhere I can stretch my legs!" I look around the forested area eagerly finding the path of least resistance and bound off in that direction. Not too far as to leave sight of the party, but certainly my faun body needs to get a nice little workout after being cooped up in HQ for so long.


(OOC: for the people casually reading. I am Rhenh the Faun for this adventure.)
(OOC: for the party: Rhenh probably wasn't listening very well during the briefing)
(OOC: for @GenericEditor168 , is this fine for OOCing? Or is there going to be a special OOC thread? )

 

Rhenh bounds along down a path, where the grass has been trodden flat and there are no trees. It leads to a river, not large enough to bar his passage but certainly not a small one. It's clean and clear, and he can pick out the scratches on the rocks lying at the bottom.

From where he stands, he can see the rest of the party, still looking around the clearing, if he turns himself around. He can also see a path, formed in the same way as the one he jusr ran down, running alongside the river, though he can't see where it leads as the river bends about a kilometer away from where he stands. Far in the distance, he can see smoke rising over a part of the forest, though it's almost impossible to distinguish from the clouds.

 

"Ah!" I exclaim and stretch my arms and wings, flapping the latter twice, as I find myself is a clearing with enough space to do so. I notice one of my companions, the young faun gallop a short ways away and chuckle quietly to myself at his exuberance. My eyes then dart to the voluptuous woman in human form next to me and I can't stop from giving her a once over. 'I wonder if she's as good in the sack as I hope.' I think to myself before shaking my head. There'd be plenty of time for that later if she was interested.

"So." I say to my female companion, my deep voice echoing upon itself as all demons voices do, "We're here to get a bunch of groups to fuck each other silly in five days time... Any idea how we're going to go about doing that?"

 

I'm looking about myself with appraising eyes, noting flora, fauna, and the ecological state of the world: S.L.I.T. will need to be notified of this plane's Meta-Dimensional Coordinates, it would be an all to tempting target for "Altenatum Inc."'s world-consuming 'Harvester' corps. I also watch the faun dart off down the path and smile a wry smile.

'Ah, the bloom of youth...' I think to myself, and then hear the demonic being that will be my associate for this mission ask his question.

"It most certainly will not be easy," I begin. "This is only my second assignment from Slit or 'Lust' as this area of the Omniverse seems to call it, but I am confident they would have assigned a more experienced team if they thought it beyond our capacity. My first thought is to start with the humans, they will be the most difficult I think as they are xenophobes, but my other thought is that I have a slight advantage there as I currently wear a human-seeming. However, I also think that our immediate task is to follow our faun associate, he seems to be trying to get our attention, and I think I hear running water in that direction which will be important for our very survival here," there is a very short pause. "I don't know about the two of you but it is quite possible that I should die of thirst if I didn't drink for five days."

With that: I start off after the Faun at an unhurried stroll.

As I walk I am thinking to myself: 'The demon appears attracted to me, I wonder if he simply wishes to slake his lust with my flesh or wants a more worthy joining?'

 

Dame Palmer follows the faun down to the river, her mind running through the complexities of diplomacy and survival. Vanek, his question answered takes a last look around the clearing before...

 

Confirming Dame Palmer suspicions, I turn and call with a wave. "I see some smoke rising over the treetops in this direction. Seems like a good place to start"

Briefly I regard my two companions. What were their names again? Hmm...One seems like a large intimidating fiend who towers over me. Certainly if there's ever a fight, then he has the muscle and strength to handle it. As for the lady, well she's quite soft on the eyes.

After calling to them,I turn continue down the path and eagerly taking in the sights and sounds of the forest around me.

 

I hasten to catch up and call after the faun, "Rhenh, run you not ahead! We know not half of what is needful to be assured of safety here!" I shout.

 

Dame Palmer's words prove somewhat prophetic, if not in the way she was expecting, for when Rhehn rounds the corner, he finds himself running towards a bridge. The bridge's guard, a human who wears a green tunic, black pants and a flaming red mohawk, lowers his spear as he sees Rhenh approach.

Rhenh pulls to a halt a few meters from the bridge, but the guard does not lower his spear, in fact he takes a step towards Rhenh, and it seems for a moment that the L.U.S.T. agent's first interactionvwith the natives might well be a fight, but then Dame Palmer rounds the corner.

As soon as he sees her, dressed in her long cloak, he raises his spear back up to his side.

"What's a pretty young woman doing in the satyr side of the woods, then? And what's this one doing galloping around on four legs?" He asks.

 

I step back cautiously out of spearing range and put my hands up defenselessly. "E-excuse me...I'm not a Satyr. I am a Faun."

 

"Feh. Close enough." The guard says, somewhat dismissively.

 

"Rhenh, did I not warn thee to not use undue haste?" I say to the faun, then turn to the guard. "Pardon my associate's exuberance, good sir, he is yet young for his race and full of youthful enthusiasm. I am a traveler from a far land and have come with this faun and another individual who follows along behind, so I hope, to speak with thy people on behalf of my lieges with a proposal for the betterment of all hereabout. I bear thee and thine no ill will nor do my companions, but I am sure that thy duty compels thee to suspicion of strangers: so I ask that we speak with thy liege, with such protections as are required." I explain.

 

My ears droop a little at Dame Palmer's scolds me. "Sorry..." I then mutter to myself about the whole mistaken for a satyr thing. "I think I might be more closely related to a Centaur actually. I don't know though it's complicated..."

 

The guard strokes his chin, clearly thinking without much mental power to use. You can practically see the cogs tick - if I let them in, they might kill the leaders, but at the same time she is a pretty lady, and neither she nor the faun-satyr-centaur thing seem like they could cause too much damage...

Eventually, he nods. "Follow me, I'll take ye back to our hamlet..." He says, turning away and walking into the woods. You call out a reminder of your other companion, though, and he stops and waits, somewhat impatiently, in the shade of a large(ish) tree.

GM note 1: Normally, convincing the guard to take you to the hamlet would take a Charisma check, and you should include the used stat and a roll in your post, but in this case your base Charisma plus modfiers was high enough that you automatically suceeded, though not by enough (from my roll) to get anything special.
GM note 2: Let's pause this for a few hours to let Omega2o log on and play.

 

"... I don't know about the two of you but it is quite possible that I should die of thirst if I didn't drink for five days." My companion finishes and then starts after the young faun.

I take a breath and shut my eyes, enjoying a slight breeze as it comes through the trees into the clearing, and ponder the woman's words. To be sure, humans would probably prove the most difficult and I have my doubts as to whether I could effectively interact with them. From experience, humans generally react negatively to my appearance. I hear Dame Palmer call after the faun in the distance as I pace about. There doesn't seem to be any strange scents in the air, but I doubt I could tell if there were. I figure this little clearing might be a good place to set up camp when my ears pick up the faint sound of my companions calling to me in the distance.

With a grin, I beat my wings once and take to the air, all that time spent in L.U.S.T. HQ has made me more anxious than I realize to fly.

 

As Vanek touches down, wings spread, the guard panics and raises his spear, only to realise that this is the third companion that Dame Palmer was talking about. Somewhat reluctantly, he lowers his spear again, and sets off into the woods, along a trail that ranges from "dirt path" to "deep forest".

As they walk through a section of forest, bushes crushing beneath their feet, he clears his throat. "So, where are you from, anyway?" He asks, nervously. "I haven't seen your type around here before... no offence intended..."

 

I remain silent, hoping to see what Vanek is capable of in terms of the fine art of negotiations...

 

I walk slightly behind the other two but speak up. "We are simply travelers, winding the wide world and eager to learn about the different peoples and customs."

I am assume speaking our true intentions and origins would be a no no for L.U.S.T, but I don't remember orientation so I'm just running on assumptions.

 

"We're all from different places." I answer truthfully after my young companion finishes. "We met up a short while ago and decided it'd be best to travel together. I'm from a place called Elysium but I can't imagine you've heard of it, it's... far away."

I know honesty's the best policy, but revealing too much information isn't necessarily wise. "As for the others, well, I won't speak for them."

 

The guard nods. "Alright, I can see that you're close-kept men and women. I won't ask for more."
You walk in silence for a few more minutes, before emerging into another clearing. Unlike the one you started in, though, this clearing is very large, and there's no bushes on the ground. Everything has been cut back to make space for the village and the farms.

As you enter, a few of the villagers turn, and stop when they notice you, staring. Their faces are a mixture of curiosity and fear.
"If you're wanting to see the king." The guard says "He's in the high hall." He points to a particularily large stone structure in the centre of the village.