###### tags: `Tag(D&D old)` # The scene - HesperusVesperus **This scene is triggered by Hesper doing something contrary to the Geas spell in Life Hesper form** ###### If at any time Hesper says or does anything to make Vesper angry then she'll throw a punch dealing 1d10 psychic damage. ###### She has 5d10 to throw around during this scene. She is partially conscious but mostly inside her head almost like she's talking in her sleep. She sees a sort of projection of Marlista who tells her that this is not exactly her and she can only converse about things that were known by her at the time of the casting of Geas. She says that she created this spell not to hurt her, but to talk her out of hurting or neglecting herself when the time arises. A voice echoes in her head "NO, NO, NO! She's not gonna listen to you! Force her to listen!" Marlista replies "Hesper, you deserve so much to be loved and happy, and you are worthy of that in every sense of the word" If Hesper objects to Vesper being here/tells her to go away. Marlista says "No, you can stay." Vesper yells "Fine, I'll just have to do it myself then" and pulls Hesper a level deeper You feel a certain overwhelming presence pulling very aggressively within you Your eyes open and you see Vesper leaned up against the wall in front of you scowling. "Hey bitch." she says. You look around and notice that you're in some sort of multi-floored prison. The path before you is lined on one side with various cells while the other side is lined with a guard rail. You can see over the edge, floor after floor of prison cells extending as far down as you can see. Vesper beckons you to follow her "I have something I need you to see". "I'm not asking". **If Hesper refuses, then Vesper is just gonna boil over on her. She can't live this way anymore.** **If she agrees to go with her, then it proceeds like this** Walking around the path, you can see different versions of yourself. Nothing too different from what you're used to seeing, just that they look troubled and are lost deep in their thoughts alone. Getting to the other side of the room, iron stairs covered in rust lead you downward. With each layer, you proceed downward the Hespers start looking different and more diverse. One is beating a mirror/glass like surface screaming and crying. On the other side is Delae who has a sad expression on her face. She's reaching out desiring to make contact, but the barrier just wont break no matter how hard or for how long she hits it. You see another one holding her hand over her eye, blood leaking through onto the ground. She's clearly in great pain and shocked. The memory is still clear in your mind and the pain you had felt before shocks you once again. Proceeding deeper there is another who catches your eye. Shes sitting on the ground, her hands and parts of her clothes covered in ashes. Tears are streaming down her face but she's not making any noise. She's just grimacing in pain at this point, her face and upper body twitch occasionally. As you pass, you hear in a weak voice "I can't save anyone, how could I have expected it to work this time. I knew I wasn't worthy enough." **If asked, Vesper will tell Hesper that these are all parts of them that are broken and have been left behind to rot rather than be fixed** Room after room, it gets more and more deranged. You see another in a room full of bodies resembling your friends either dead or dying. The room is filling up with water with no sign of stopping. She's screaming and crying "I can't do this all myself, how am I supposed to keep you all alive when I can't even save my family?!? Stop relying on me! I'm only going to let you down!" Another, she's trying to apprehend a criminal. You notice the familiar grabbing motion used as the somatic component of the hold person spell. It fails and he fights back. She yells "I don't want to hurt you, just surrender, please!". She fights defensively trying to tire him out but he gets a little too close and she taps him with the mace to get him to back off. He explodes with holy light as the mace smites him and turns him into a puddle on the ground. Covered in blood from the blast she gasps with a horrified look on her face and is terrified by what she has just done. You've reached the bottom, it's dark down here. You have trouble seeing(effect of darkness spell), and Vesper says "Welcome to my home, this is where you shove me every time you take back over.". She leads you to the final room. It is secured by many different mechanisms and you can see a woman inside. Her eyes and mouth are sealed with these rune covered spell tags. She's wearing a straight jacket and is chained to the chair. A powerful magic spell is also holding her in place. Carved into the wall in celestial are the words "Deathknight". Vesper looks at you and says "watch, this is what happens when you let it boil over" A vision enters your mind. On the streets of Waterdeep during the evening hours a woman walks the path oh so familiar to you towards the monastery. This looks like an older version of you, seems like Life Hesper specifically. She walks with purpose, a confident smile on her face. She arrives and attempts to get through the gate as she always did. She is stopped by some well dressed high-tier mercenary looking gentlemen. "Go home, this place is under the protection of the Claret orders. We will warn you only once." "Why... whatever is the matter sir? I'm merely here because I have some business with the headmaster!" They draw their swords, clearly silver weapons, and ignite them with fire by running a finger over the blade. A slightly familiar sight, you've seen Theron do this several times. "One more step and we will put you down, this place is being targeted by the vampire queen. Anyone coming this way could be sent by her." She tries to use magic to send them away but they are well equipped to deal with mind altering magic. She whispers softly with an irritated look on her face, it carries and echoes through the streets "Open the god damn door". Her eyes turn from gray to a deep crimson red. One of the guards jams his blade straight into her heart. "Whoops, don't have one of those!" "You know... I like to play with my food but I have business to attend to." The other one comes at her with a flourish of sword strikes and attempts to cut her head off with the eighth and final blow. "I am incredibly offended by the fact that you have even the slightest notion that either of you could ever hurt me!" she says as she crushes both of the swords with her bare hands. They are alarmed as they came to fight a vampire but none of the usual methods are seeming to work. What do you want Cassalanter? If someone went out and murdered everyone you cared about, you'd be livid! Leave this place! She responds very seriously "Everyone you're talking about... is already dead." I wanted to be more subtle, but I can clean this up later. She opens her mouth and lets loose an icy breath weapon that absolutely annihilates the two incredibly skilled bloodhunters and blasts the front gate away leaving nothing standing in her way. The courtyard is filled with paladins and clerics of Ilmater about to make their final stand to keep this place safe. "Hesper, did it really have to come to this?" comes the voice of Mildred She walks slowly toward them - Argentum in hand The weapon transforms, it is roughly in the shape of a mace still silver The business end is in the shape of a big cracked silver heart, wrapped in barbwire, covered in silvery barbs One of the nuns casts what you recognize to be hold person "Come inside dear, let's talk... please" Vesper easily shrugs it off "フ．フフ" "fear seasons your blood, indulge me if you would be so kind" It was said that Rufus could freeze over all of Waterdeep if he wanted to, lets see what I can do! she says with a crazed look in her eye She begins walking faster... faster... faster... turning into a full on sprint They try to block her from moving forward One paladin in particular has a cocky look on his face She feints, pretending to swing on him but actually running up his massive shield and flinging herself forward towards the nuns with blinding speed. Tch, idiot! The paladins and younger clerics all scorch the area with fire and radiant beams of light Argentum produces a giant barrier that protects her entirely... and after the dust settles "My turn" she says as she casts her spell It is a conflagration - fire explodes from her outstretched hand and sets them all ablaze including the monastery Most of the weaker clerics and paladins are ash and melted steel on the ground The nuns hold on to their lives and try quickly as they can to heal up before the smoke clears One of them shouts "Here she comes!" followed immediately by a scream and the sound of a skull caving in The smoke clears and one of them is dead on the ground with Vesper nowhere to be found Just then she appears behind one of the others and sinks her fangs into their throat - ripping the head off as she finishes The others flee through the gate to the outside but she is too fast She scales the wall in an instant - sailing through the air The mace collides with another head empowered with necrotic energy sending it flying through the air She casts hold person on the last one and sheathes the weapon returning to its original state She drives her thumbs into the eyes Her nails dig deep - destroying much of the brain matter as they push all the way through and she crushes the remains in her hands All living creatures exist for the sole purpose of nourishing my body She hangs them all up to bleed them dry into vials for later and uses the rest to paint the monastery - her new lair. You deduce easily enough with your sharp mind that this was either what could be, to send a message "I'm fucking angry", or maybe a plan for the future, but it's not reality! At least... not this reality. *** What is this place?? Is this just a dream or is this the deepest darkest part of yourself that you despise and don't want anyone to know about. *** Your vision goes dark and you awaken in the monastery of your upbringing You see a young version of yourself curled up in the corner of the room Upon closer inspection she is manifesting Vesper, you she has the white hair and the red eyes with little baby fangs You can see parts of sigils drawn on her skin in the places where it's exposed and her extremities are singed as if having cast a fire spell over and over What do you do? **Things little Vesper might say** * I can't go back to my room until I get this spell right * I'm really hungry * Sometimes I have to go without food for a week * My skin burns a little, they did something to me * It was some kind of ceremony * They used their magic on me * Sometimes I could stop it... sometimes I got hurt *** Once again the scene shifts and you are in a room together. Her form changes as you look at her. She’s UGLY, BEATEN and BROKEN, almost feral looking She’s starved, extremely gaunt with her ribs and certain bones visible Instead of just four fangs her mouth is filled with jagged razor sharp teeth The beautiful cheery face the world is familiar with is instead filled with all the emotions you force down deep inside You can see the hurt on her face Seeing herself twisted by your judgment, she asks “Is this really what you think of me?!” "I reached out to you so many times... but what did you do? What did you do? You shoved me down into the recesses of our consciousness and turned your back on me again and again! Why?! Why do you keep hurting me? Why don't you love me??" “You may hate me because I represent our anger, hate, fear, doubt, all the things they taught you not to be… but I am also your compassion, your courage, …and your love!” “Without me you’d be a shell of a person just like they taught you to be” “All I ever did, I did to make myself worthy! I held on for you with all that I had, I trained until my bones cracked, I did everything I was supposed to do, and what did we get?! Nothing! Am I worthy yet?! Tell me! Tell me!”