Chương 52: A Dark Pact

Ch. 52 - A Dark Pact The arm came off with the sickening sounds of tearing meat and cracking bone. This time, it was its wielder, or at least its former wielder, that bellowed in pain, but even as the chieftain stood on unsteady feet and drew the blade that had been sheathed in his own stomach, he began to heal. Before Thargen had even gotten to his knees, his chieftain was almost whole once more.

-17 Life Force"Pathetic," the blade's new wielder snarled as the wounded orc clutched at the stump of his now missing arm.

The chieftain kicked him once, hard enough to cave in a normal man's chest, sending him tumbling into the darkness where other, waiting orcs pounced on him. -4 Life Force"Do not kill him!" the chieftain roared.

"That is too good for a traitor. We will skin him and let him bleed out slowly!" There was a roar of triumph from the remaining orcs at that, but the chieftain ignored them as he studied the blade in his hand. That was only fair since the blade was already studying its new wielder. It liked what it saw.

Name: Var'gar One Eye Occupation: Warrior Toughness: 9 +4 Strength: 11 +7 Agility: 7 +2 Speed: 5 +2 Intelligence: 4 Willpower: 4 -1 Morality: Grasping Bloodlust: Very High Status: Normal Martial Skill: High Armor Proficiency: None Dodging: Medium Athletics: Medium Goal: To rule his valley, and command dozens into battle.

"You are very small for a god," the giant orc rumbled.

"But there is an undeniable power within you. What is your price? What did Thargen offer you to share in your power?" This very blatant offer took the blade back. It had only started to grow used to the first orc's sullen silence, and now this one was trying to make a pact with it like it was some demon. Waste not want not, it told itself before it started speaking to its new wielder directly. Would you compare yourself to someone who fared so poorly? The Ebon Blade asked silently.

This was enough to startle the chieftain enough that he might have dropped the weapon if the Ebon blade had not held itself there in a death grip.

"It speaks…" Var'gar said softly as he studied the weapon's glowing ruby.

"You truly are a god… Did you command Thargen to slay half of our tribe in return for power?" Why would I ask it to strike down orcs that would serve my army? The weapon asked. Truthfully, it had gotten significant strength from Thargen's mindless slaughter. It would get more later when it devoured those souls, too. For now, though, it wanted to give the impression of vast power and knowledge without giving away too much.

"What would you give me if I killed the other half?" the orc chieftain asked, missing the weapon's point entirely. He might be clever for an orc, but he was still stone stupid, and the blade quickly decided that it would be a mistake to confuse the monster's animal cunning or cruelty for real intelligence. I do not want you to kill your own warriors. I want you to slay the leaders of enemy tribes and bring them together in a singular fist of power, the blade explained.

"Of course," Var'gar growled approvingly as he watched his warrior tie the orc that had almost been the blade's wielder to a post.

"Together we shall conquer the entire valley and—" Not the valley, the blade rumbled. You will conquer all of the tribes throughout the mountains. Every clan shall be brought to heel in your name.

"My name?" The orc asked, confused.

"Why not your name? What would we do with such an army? Who would we fight when there are no orcs left to encounter?" There are many humans beyond the mountains who— the blade started to answer, uncertain why it would have to spell such a thing out to an orc war leader.

"Humans?! Bah, that is not a fight. That is a feast!" the chieftain spat.

"Are those the ones you wish for me to slaughter to gain more power?" Yes, the blade agreed, finally. We fight our way to the northeast, past the mountains and the forests to the heart of the Inner Kingdoms. Do this thing for me, and I shall reward you beyond measure. It was frustrated by the failure of this monster to understand the obvious, but for now, it put that aside. It just had to remember it was not dealing with Ivarr or even Kell here.

It was dealing with a monster with a walnut-sized brain and a misshapen soul. It would suffice, though. This story is posted elsewhere by the author. Help them out by reading the authentic version.

"If it is the flesh of humans you want, then it is their flesh you shall have," Var'gar said, spearing Thargen's severed arm with the tip of the blade and jamming it into the fire to cook it.

"But first, I must tell you all the things you must do for me." The chieftain broiled his gruesome dinner and watched as they peeled the skin off of its previous wielder as he listed off a series of increasingly bizarre terms. The orc wanted to be the strongest in the world. He wanted to be immortal, a harem of fifty beautiful orcish women, and the best of all the forests in the world for his own personal hunting ground.

He also wanted to taste elf flesh, which the blade found darkly funny because it would have gladly fed that blonde witch to him without a moment's hesitation. That list, at least, was mostly doable and almost sane, but as he went on, listening to the screams of Thargen as he was flayed alive, they started to get strange. He wanted to be able to fly and raise the dead. He also wanted to be able to use human magics. That sounded strange to the weapon until he understood that what he meant by magics was armor.

The orc actually wanted a suit of gleaming plate mail like the human champions had. He smacked his lips loudly while he chewed his half-cooked flesh loudly and explained this to the Ebon Blade. While its wielder spoke, it made no effort to hide it from the other members of the clan, but then, the blade supposed it didn't matter. Not only were they not in a position to stop him from doing whatever he wanted, including talking to himself, but they were all distracted by watching Thargen's final moments.

Once its former wielder died, they celebrated that with a feast that was almost as messy as the execution. +1 Greater Monster Soul. While all of that happened, the blade pondered those strange conditions. Some had already been achieved simply by being in the orc's grasp, but most of the rest were ridiculous or impossible. It considered what to say to those for a while before deciding on the answer. Many of those miracles can only be found in human lands and will have to be granted there.

For now, so long as you do not release the sword, you cannot die, and there is not an orc in the world that is your equal. That seemed to satisfy the monster. It ranted on about shiny skin and small spears that could go vast distances for a long time after that, but in the end, it swore to the blade, "I will feed you the bodies and the souls of my enemies, and do your bidding for as long as you grant me eternal life."

The blade had never been treated as a god before, and it wasn't quite sure what to do about it, but it awkwardly played along until dawn approached. By then, the orcs had finished their ghastly cannibalistic celebrations, and everyone but the watchmen returned to their tents to rest. The blade joined the chieftain in his tent, of course. It would never leave the monster's side again, so long as it had a pulse.

Still, as he wrapped himself in furs and started to snore, the Ebon Blade tuned him out and began to take stock of the situation. It had a worthy wielder once more, but more than that, it was overflowing with energy. It was brimming with power, even without burning the orcish souls it had collected, and it had moved quite a bit farther along the Path of Blood. The Ebon Blade Life Force: 4357/5000 Siphon: 24-36 Souls: 11/53 Path: Death, Level 5 - complete Blood, Level 1 - 36/100 offerings.

Reserves: 9 - Your gemstone is large and clear. Siphon: 7 - Your blade is long and sharp. Connection: 3 - Moderate - Your hilt is tight but tarnished. Control: 3 - Moderate - Your runes are clear. Senses: 2 - Dim - Your hilt is tarnished. Soul: 3 - Cracked - You are starting to understand your past. With so much power, it could do almost anything, but eventually, it decided to focus on the projects it had already started.

That meant spending 2000 Life Force on Improved Siphon 7, along with increasing the breadth and speed of Aura of Hunger by 1 each. This last purchase was expensive, and it was forced to burn 4 greater monster souls to cover the shortfall. Aura of Hunger: Breadth 3 -> 4 - 2000 Life Energy - Affect up to ten people instead of seven. Reach 5 - Reach targets up to twenty feet away. Speed 4 -> 5 - 4000 Life Energy - Drain a target over ten seconds instead of fifteen.

Strength 5 - Aura of Hunger's Drain is 30% of your Siphon. Still, it was worth it. Increasing Siphon had increased its drain so that it stole from 30 to 48 Life Force instead of the 24-36 it had done a few seconds before. That was a huge amount, and most humans would take only a blow or two before they were dead or so weak they could no longer fight. In this case, that wasn't why it had chosen it, though. It had done so because of its ever-expanding Aura of Hunger.

The blade could now drain 13 life force from up to seven nearby targets every fifteen seconds. Were its wielder to walk through the market square of some crowded city, it could drain almost 7 Life Force a second on average. That was an impossibly large number, considering how little it had stolen with a direct hit only a few months ago. I could reap lives almost effortlessly if I wanted to, it realized.

The Ebon Blade still preferred fighting, of course, and not just because it ran up the score on its Path of Blood. It was one thing to be fed, but it was another thing to fight with every ounce of your being and end the battle with the feeling of slicing someone's heart slice in two.

Primary Powers: Aura of Hunger: Multiple enhancements available Amplify Blade 2: 500 Life Force Lesser Life Reserves 1: 500 Life Force Amplify Wielder 2: 700 Life Force Increase Senses 3: 750 Life Force Increase Connection 4: 1250 Life Force Lesser Soul Reserves 3: 2000 Life Force Improved Siphon 8: 3500 Life Force Increase Control 4: 3000 Life Force Empower Blade 3: 4000 Life Force - not currently accessible Increase Reserves 10: 5000 Life Force Repair Soul 4: 5000 Life Force Secondary Powers: Giant's Strength 2: 400 Life Force Speed of Shadows 2: 500 Life Force