A toy, that was the realization. Blaming The Fey would be easy, but really all they did was continue the game his human brethren had been playing with him his whole life. Fine, he’d play the game, but in this game it was his daughter’s life that hung in the balance. Even if he never saw her again, he would untangle her from the web of machinations his trusting foolishness had landed her in.
The voice of the mania stricken Fey began to enter his ears again, no matter how unbidden it was.
“Good! Good, good, good! Now you need to know the tools! Games need tools, no cricket without a bat! Mirror, again, faster, faster!”
Now acknowledging himself as Gnarled Marl in an effort to separate himself mentally from his daughter as well as shielding her from his actions in the future Marl looked at his hand again, noting that a new scroll was in there as the last one had disintegrated after he read it.
“Boring rules are boring, look at the cases, see the number! Number, number, numer! Feats are things you did, they work like money! People curse or bless you and you can buy them! More fear, more funny, torture the humans as much as you can and you get more feats!”
Marl looked at the three black cases and saw brass numbers on each. Looking lower he saw letters similarly emblazoned under them reading “Interpretations:” On the particular case he looked at it said underneath:
“A curse to rot you with lead
Universal:
Universal interpretations are gained with all permutations of a curses interpretation:
Immunity to fatal damage caused to brain and heart as a result of lead poisoning.
The first interpretation:
Leaden claws that break off in targets to cause fatal damage.
The Second Interpretation:
Leaden teeth poison targets when bit to cause fatal damage.
The Third Interpretation:
Leaden spine lashes out with...well, spines when attacked.
The Fourth Interpretation:
Leaden bones drastically increase durability and weight.
You may only choose one curse interpretation for 300 feats. Each additional level adds another interpretations at an additional increment of 300 feats to the standard price.”
It seemed simple enough to Marl, if he’d had the third interpretation the Mayor would be dying with him. Wanting to know his options first he looked at another of of the black boxes.
“A curse to have vermin within your body, particularly your mouth.”
Universal:
Your neck pouch becomes a haven for the wee beasties of the night.
The first interpretation:
Rats are created and stored in the throat pouch, effect on living targets is low, but complex instructions on property damage can be given. Up to 6 rats generated.
The second interpretation:
Spiders are created and stored in the throat pouch, psychological damage is moderate, targets are poisoned and webs may be generated by user. Up to 30 generated.
The third interpretation:
Centipedes may be created and stored in the throat pouch, massive psychological damage, targets will be in extreme pain if the centipedes successfully enter any office, but die quickly once inside a target. Up to 12 can be generated.
The fourth interpretation:
Worms may be created and stored in the throat pouch, no damage inflicted on targets, extremely minor psychological damage however worms have slow tunnelling abilities. Up to 100 can be generated.
You may only choose one curse interpretation for 500 feats. Each additional level adds another interpretation at an additional increment of 500 feats to the standard price.”
More food for Marl’s twisting thoughts. He continued on to the last curse which looked extremely damaged at the bottom.
“A curse of Darkness.
Universal:
Affinity for darkness
The first interpretation:
The ability to make darkness into weapons, wow, super cool take this one!!!!
The second interpretation:
WE WILL STRAIGHT UP GIVE YOU FLIGHT AT NIGHT!!!!
The Third interpretation:
Name it, we’ll give it to you.”
Looking at the scratched section he could barely make it out.
“T e stu dest d mb t t ng you sh ldn’t pick:
ecome unf dab e in th dar by a y th ng.
Trying to read it Marl read it out loud “The stupidest, dumbest thing you shouldn’t pick: Become unfindable in the dark by anything?”
Immediately an explosion of angry boos, jeers and bargaining filled his ears as the Fey responded with anger. He read the last part of the text despite the noise.
“If you pick that we’re done, you will never get to pick to enhance this incredible curse.
It will cost you 100 to pick the other ones. 1000 to get the bad one and we’ll send Long Lankin to kill you, did you think you were the only player in the game?”
Seeing this was clearly an area of friction and still feeling on shaky ground with his current situation Marl moved on to the last box, the white one, as he thought it interesting that while The Fey had clearly weighted the dice there was still an element of chance to this game.
“A Blessing to heal from any injury while leaving behind no mark.
Total feats required 10000.”
Marl puzzled at this, couldn’t he already heal as long as his heart and brain were intact?
The manic Fey seemed to pick up on his confusion and spoke.
“You are a cursed being, blessings don’t gel well with your make up fool! Fool, fool, fool! They will always be much more expensive, expensive. As for your healing get hurt too much and you’d definitely end up living up to the name Gnarled, you scar as normal. Scar, scar, scar. Your brain and heart aren’t safe from poisons or toxins either you lummox! Lummox, lummox, lummox. Pick one of those lead interpretations or you’ll die from the bullet in your shoulder soon.”
Despite The Fey’s harsh words she actually had been very helpful and so Marl responded a polite “Thank you.”
The laughter of the other Fey was deafening. The Frenzied Fey spoke in his ears with a huffy “Whatever, I just took the short straw to tell you things! Do you wanna know what the web does?”
Marl ever a man of courtesy responded as he would to anyone by saying “Yes, please.”
The Fey’s sniggering did little to stop the already embarrassed manic Fey who dove into the explanation with an exasperated tone in her voice.
“You take the web out and stick it on something in the dark. Dark, dark, dark. then stick yourself into it, The Fey surgeon will come out and alter your body in accordance with your wishes as long as you have enough meat and a sample of whatever you want. Want, want, want. Get some meat before you try it though, he hates being bothered. Bothered, bothered, bothered.”
The two curses Marl chose were worms and leaden spines.
He’d need to set up his laboratory, test the properties of his body and most importantly produce his own food in a garden and to do that the worms were incredibly important. He had many such thoughts before the moment pain became his entire existence as his body shifted in a manner so intensely painful that he bit through his incredibly long tongue and fell to the ground screaming, the transformation would take 8 hours. He writhed in agony and would be awake for all of it as the laughter of the Fey haunted him.
