Tag: Hightail it

HHH7: The Vapors Priest

Location: The Mediterranean region.

Status: Active.

Description and Behavior: The Vapors Priest was the head of the Chained Gods Temple before its dissolution and is the current head of the splinter organisation Servants of the Chained Gods. This entity is a smooth blue gemstone resembling a human eye in both appearance and size. The ‘eye’ emits a blue vaporous mass shaped like a human torso with four arms and a head. In the middle of what would be the face is where the ‘eye’ is located. The Vapors Priest is able to control its vapors to such a degree as to be able to decide whether objects can pass through its mass, which allows it to do such acts as pick up objects with its ‘hands’.

In order to understand the Vapors Priest, it is important to understand the pantheon of ‘gods’ it claims to serve. It is claimed that the full forms of the Chained Gods are kept imprisoned in the deepest depths of a great lake of fire by their enemies, the Oppressor and the Traitor, and will be freed upon the restoration of the Bust of the Goddess (OLC1). For the time being they interact with the mortal world through significantly weaker ‘conduits’. Out of the thousands of gods worshipped, the main five are as follow:

The Chained Goddess is the chief god, she is also known as the Mistress, the Queen, Ri’Lheni, and Vynis. Her full form is described as being reminiscent of a massive female centaur; though with three eyes, a multitude of horns, and equipped with a halberd. Literature associated with the worship of the Chained Gods claim her to be the goddess of motherhood, order, and justice. Her followers pray to her about issues related to planning, parenting, judging, and protection.

The Crystal God functions as the second in command in most Chained Gods myths and is also known as the Librarian, Clear-Maker, Curiothrax, and V’Thuuk. His full form is described as a thousand-side crystal with an eye on every side and countless scrolls containing great knowledge floating around him. He is claimed to be the god of knowledge, discovery, and history. Followers pray to him about issues relating to the unknown, records, and research.

The Harvest God operates as an advisor to the other gods and is also known as the Time-Keeper, Intercessor of the Faithful, Logothrax, and U’Lukrwth. His full form is described as a sphere of flesh with a multitude of extremely long ‘fingers’ he uses to interact with the world and hold his harvesting tools. He is claimed to be the god of the harvest, logic, calendars, and souls. Followers pray to him about issues relating to food, interpretation, and that he will grab their souls when they die so that they can be with their gods. Some literature depicts this entity as female.

The Marcher Goddess is the head of the armies of the Chained Gods and is also known as the Great Lizard, the Warrior, B’Thule, and Qi-Syth. Her full form is described as a massive humanoid reptile with two heads and covered with ornate armor, armed with a spear and followed by her reptilian servants. She is claimed to be the goddess of war, dueling, and honor. Followers pray to her about issues relating to war, martial prowess, and protection from schemes.

The Cannibal God currently occupies no official role but used to be the executioner of the Chained Gods and is also known as Sir Sackcloth, the Chaotic One, Saedo, and Xarquul. His full form is described as a skeletal figure with massive wings and antlers, clothed in sackcloth and rough iron armor while armed with a large battle-axe, grey glowing piercing through a sackcloth veil. He is claimed to be the god of chaos, murder, and torture. It is required by the followers of the Chained Gods to pray to every single other god for protection from him before attempting to pray to the Cannibal God. Due to this, he is only ever prayed to for extreme acts of vengeance.

With this knowledge in mind, the Vapors Priest serves these entities by undertaking actions to further their goals with especial dedication to the Chained Goddess. These actions include intelligence gathering, anomaly acquisition, and assassinations; and the actions themselves are usually performed by members of the Servants of the Chained Gods. These ‘Servants’ are persons that the Vapors Priest convinced to inhale the vapors that it produces. The vapors grant the person anomalous qualities in exchange for a reduction in the capacity for independence. This is likely due to the collapse of the Temple in part being caused by empowered members of the Temple operating too independently of the Priest’s plans.

Recommended Actions: If you encounter the Vapors Priest, or the Servants of the Chained Gods, vacate the situation immediately. Anyone who is caught is always either persuaded to join them or killed. The best way to escape the situation is by using a vehicle to get away from their area of operation. These areas of operation tend to be near and focused on other anomalous entities. Therefore, it is important to make haste to an area devoid of anomalous activity as the Vapors Priest rarely moves far from its goals.

SHH4: Burlap

Location: Anywhere, with a preference for small rural towns and villages.

Status: Active.

Description and Behavior: Burlap is an entity that takes the form of a large and heavily built male human. It is estimated to be seven feet (2.1 meters) tall and weigh in excess of three hundred pounds (136 kilograms). Its clothing typically consists of a burlap sack with eyeholes cut out over its head, shirt and pants made of crudely sewn together burlap, a worn-out fur-lined coat, fur boots, and hand wrappings. The clothing can vary considerably, however the burlap sack on the head remains consistent. Typically, Burlap wields an especially large two-handed axe but has also exhibited the ability and willingness to use other weapons to inflict harm. This includes swords, firearms, pipes, a book, and various anomalous artifacts if available.

Many of the anomalous abilities exhibited by Burlap ensure difficulty in surviving an encounter with it. Most important to note is that even if termination is achieved (indicated when its body turns to dust) Burlap has the ability to near-immediately re-manifest, usually in a nearby location just outside of view. Burlap seems to choose these areas for re-manifestation as a means of ambushing victims that believed that they had escaped danger. There does not seem to be a limit to the distance of re-manifestation, though, and it can resume an attack anywhere at anytime. It also has precise and thorough control over every muscle in its body, an ability it uses to either continue use of mangled limbs or even instigate self-termination. Its ability to self-terminate combined with its capacity for re-manifestation allows for it to effectively teleport. Finally, Burlap’s voice has a peculiar quality in that it does not emanate from Burlap itself but rather seems to ‘wander’ a given area. This frequently disorientates and confuses potential victims.

This entity is highly dangerous and openly displays sadistic behaviors. It deliberately seeks to cause as much pain as possible to victim, both physical and mental. The favorite tactic to achieve this seems to be that it lets the victim terminate Burlap, only to then re-manifest and trap the victim for prolonged torture. Burlap strangely seems to have an affinity for murderers and torturers, sometimes breaking them out of prisons to aid in its endeavors. Most curious of Burlap’s behavior is its preference of the predation of other anomalous entities. It will abandon non-anomalous prey the moment an anomalous target becomes apparent, aggressively using its own abilities to wear down the opponent. Once the target is sufficiently tired Burlap grabs the entity, and both disappear to an unknown location. Considering entities grabbed by Burlap seemingly never re-manifest, they are considered inactive.

Recommended Actions: Considering the nature of Burlap, the best course of action is to flee as far as possible the fastest way possible. The only sure-fire way to survive an attack is for it to become interested in another target and forget about you, which is unlikely but possible. Realistically, if you are targeted by Burlap and survive the initial encounter, you should straighten out your own affairs and arrange your situation to minimize fatalities when the attack resumes.