Ch44 - Recovering surprise

Once I warped my friends back home, I put everyone into the recovery position at the bar. Whilst I did so, I noticed a large amount of hooded men and women in the mix that carried daggers. I can only guess these Bhaal worshippers came to investigate the illusion of Orin singing her lungs out, so I took their knives to smelt down and sell as better weapons.

-

(Bhaal worshipper POV)

"Acolytes!" My boss, a scarred and charred doppelgänger called out to us. "We've received word of a large gathering, this is nothing but a perfect opportunity to show your commitment to lord Bhaal. They're travelling over to the Blushing mermaid now, blend in as usual."

With that, me and 4 other acolytes exited out of the sewers. We could already hear the music blaring through, spectres of people we knew and recognised flew around the top of a crowd blasting music.

"Yeaaaaah! (waltzing forth here they come!)

I'm raising the dead! (Everyone turn and run!)"

An illusion of Cazador was performing a bard's dream, one that I'm all too happy to haunt. "Come on, hurry" my co-conspirator called to me, we didn't need to use our stealth tactics as a myriad of people were joining as well.

We scattered out to the far-most points of the crowd, there seemed to be no definitive leader of the party, just a travelling horde. We reached the Blushing Mermaid and that's when the song stopped, just for another one to come on. I paid it no notice until I caught glimpse of who the new figures were.

"Can't stay at home, can't stay at school

Old folks say, 'Ya poor little fool'"

Orin the red, chosen of Bhaal was performing alongside a small group of undisguised doppelgängers. Clearly the person organising the music and performance is a follower of Bhaal, and that firewine is calling my name…

I saw out the corner of my eye, an acolyte locked in an arm wrestle with a fiery red tiefling, the others were nowhere to be seen. I started with a few drinks, I wouldn't get carried away, I have to make sure the mission is done.

****

(1 hour later)

"Who wants to watch me chug a barrel!" I screamed to the crowd, I pulled out my dagger and stabbed into the side of a firewine barrel, two half-orcs lifted it up over me and I drank the entire thing dry.

""Bunt! Bunt! Bunt!"" The crowd cheered my name, I may have failed Bhaal but I will be immortalised as the fucking legend I am! Suddenly I started heaving, sickly acid stinging the back of my tongue as I threw up all over the bar. I collapsed onto it and immediately felt myself drift off into sleep.

I dreamt wild dreams, Orin personally congratulating me for my mission, Gortash giving me command over the watch and a strange man in a formal suit making vomit fly up into bottles.

******

(Charles POV)

(Present time)

The daggers I compromised were reforged to be of a holy nature, a drop of sacrilegious blood will do that. I dropped them off at my forge for my employees to sell them and bought myself a few more bags of holding. I think a good long term plan is to make an 'unending bag of everything', a ridiculous long-term plan, but I have no idea how long my lifespan is.

Back at the inn, I fused my unending bag of ink with my unending bag of metal and wool. I did that just to see if it's an actually valid plan, but it worked out well.

[Unending bag of stuff -

Features of the bag: Placing a sample of one of these items in, if it's previously unattained, it is now replicable in the bag.

Additional features: Can mix these items at will and pull out the product.]

With that I have access to dyed wool and metal, and I can automatically infuse the ink properties into the ink and wool. I could mix the vomit bag in as well, but I still want it as a misdirection.

I spent the remainder of the night creating any melee and ranged weapons I could think of, using my own abilities to bolster them further. Finally I fused that into the gradually growing bag of everything.

[Unending bag of metal, ink, wool, +3 weapons -

Features of the bag: Placing a sample of one of these items in, if it's previously unattained, it is now replicable in the bag.

Additional features: Can mix these items at will and pull out the product. Can fire items of the bag out up to 20mph.]

(Complete item description is too long, will be in author's note.)

With this I have permanent access to hellfire, holy, poisonous or warping metal, wool and weapons. A next step for me is a corpse bag, since they're perfect for rituals, also to create a new weapon as my fighting style has changed.

[29days Exam cooldown]

A crisp 6am start for everyone begun, Shadowheart, Halsin, Astarion and Jaheira were the only ones awake and around. Nothing new, they didn't need sleep so they just meditated for the night. I got back to work on making an automaton bag for the next few hours, I didn't start breakfast unless most people were awake.

I lost track of time, but I made 50 large automatons, using lead and steel as the base. I would've carried on if Halsin didn't tap on my shoulder, "You alright Halsin? What time is it?" I turned to face him, looking up a little bit.

"It's the others Charles, they're not waking up! We've shook them, cast dispel curse and lesser restoration but they're still not awake. It's already the afternoon, they should be up." He begun wiping the sweat off his brow and pacing in front of me.

"Alright, I'll have a look at them" I put my gloves away and walked towards Minsc. I used [Undiagnose] to test for any sleep irregularities, there was none. Then I cast [Dispel magic], nothing happened, not even a stir. People who don't know Minsc don't realise how on guard he is to protect Boo, this is extremely odd.

I get an idea and I start switching my eyeballs with all of my forms. Not a single one showed anything useful, until I use ghost eyes. Ethereal sight showed a single glowing ball of mass flying just above the beds, I could make out a winged shape but that was it. To have a better look, I shifted into a crypt-chanter and went to the astral plane, I was immediately met by a large devilish woman in a tight leather corset and high boots on.

"My oh my, I was figured out? What a shame, I was having such fun with these toys." She giggled, looking me in the eyes like I was simply another meal.

"What does a succubus want with us? Are you here to avenge Raphael? I didn't know devils had camaraderie, I suppose you learn something new everyday." I stood eye level to her as she floated.

"Oh no such thing dear, I was simply curious of the mortals who walked into a devils home before robbing and killing him. I have to say, I'm not impressed." She crossed her arms spoke.

"I would like you to warn you, you are not safe in the ethereal plane. Release them and be on your way" I already have a portal to the material plane active behind me.

"And why would I do that? Don't say you can offer something even better, then I might be tempted." A malicious grin spread across her face, biting her finger all the while.

I simply shifted back into a human and sent some sacrilegious blood at her through the portal, I watched her scream in agony through the small hole. With her concentration on whatever spell she was casting gone, the group finally woke up. Knowing they were safe, I expanded the portal so I could go there and punch her square across the face.

Recovering from the burn, she saw me coming through the portal and instinctively tried to cast 'charm' on me. It immediately failed, but allowed for a yellow spectral figure to fly out at her screaming, "You dress like that for your father!" A disgusting crack echoed through both planes as he punched a hole through her throat, spine fragment dripped out the back and her neck collapsed in on itself.

She dropped dead right there to the ground, the fall alone sounded like it broke something else, not that she needs to care about that anymore. I dragged her body back out the portal to show everyone the perpetrator.

"A succubus everyone, doing god knows what to our companions in their dreams. But for me, she's a bundle of resources." I gave them all a moment to hate the being that trapped them inside themselves before I turned it into a bestial ink. I then put the rest in my inventory.

"So are any of you feeling ill, charmed, dizzy or anything like that?" I ask to the group, they were under a powerful mental effect after all.

They all raise their hand in a disjointed unison, some swaying are they're still yet to recover. I can't say it helps that it's this group that was most affected by the drinking last night.

"Alright, we kill Gortash tomorrow, Karlach do you mind?" I turn to face her but she's throwing up out of a window, I go over and hold her hair back out the way. I pull out some metallic wool, sturdy yet flexible, and use it to tie her hair back for her.

"Day of rest then, I've got some stuff I need to work on, so I can stay and look after them if you lot want to go out?" I ask to the group that woke up. They're split in their decision and so half of them go out to get some random shopping in and fresh air.

Just as I go to the forge, I hear a voice in my head, "Can we get a new shipment of inks?We're full up with appointments!" It was Dumisa simply ordering some more inks.

I open a portal and appear in front of 'Ngozi's inks', I walk through the door just to see Dumisa waiting for me. "The new inks are going well I take it? In fact I made one more this morning, a succubus tried killing us so now I've got some of these." I pass him 5 succubi bestial inks and he places them in a sack.

"That's very kind of you, now I have an appointment in 7 minutes with a man who wants a wyvern and a mummy lord bestial tattoo, I would like to purchase the usual and 5 more of the mummy lord ones." He handed over a large sack of 100,000p, I placed it in my bag and gave him exactly what he asks for.

With business done, I step out into the street ready to go home. A tiefling and a halfling jump out and hold me at knife-point, threatening me for the bag of money.

…5 minutes later I walk back into the tattoo parlour with some new inks for him.

Finishing up, I warp back to the room, I cook everyone a large full-english and lots of water and juice for everyone. I bring everyone's food over one by one, I get mumbling thank you's of "Boo appreciates you" and "You would be a kith'rak if you were githyanki". With that sorted, I cast silence over them, making sure no hangover headaches are likely.

I walk back to my forge and spent the next 6 hours making another 50 automatons. They were all of good standard, capable of firing at will, follow complex commands and can fight a steel watcher to a standstill.

I use [perfect environment] and the room stretches out to be able to fit at least 2 dragons, I pull all of the Mk1 models out of my bag and line them up in the ritual circle. Then I throw in an empty bag of holding.

[Unending bag of automatons -

Automatons - Mk1

Features: All automatons produced are loyal and can only be commanded by the creator of the bag.

Additional features: Bag can stretch to accommodate any size, allowing safe removal of automatons.]

I fused that immediately into the 'Unending bag of stuff', which now allows me to immediately pull out +3 weapon equipped automatons with any of the attributes available. With a new additional feature added to the total bag, I made it so new variants only needed one sample to be put into the bag.

For example, I pulled out my unpainted Chucky automaton and placed it in the 'Unending bag of stuff' and now I can produce it like a MK1. Maybe later I can kidnap a few of the steel watchers, some of them are quite good to have.