Hostile Takeover
The Never Ending Quest - Episode 117806
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Most of the palace was made of stone, but significant portions were wooden, and with a touch Nypheria, brought decay to them. Leather rotted, paper yellowed, even clothes began to decompose. Within an hour every person in the palace had taken note, and were alarmed at the blight, questioning if it was a curse. Kirixir and many of her kin were dropped in the extensive palace storeroom. Many of them began to feast immediately, while the rest began to copulate, driven to get as much done in darkness as they could before they were discovered. In the meantime the rest of them were deposited in other dark, neglected corners of the palace. They all understood instinctively that Kirixir was their de facto leader; after all, it was the special attention paid to her that had heralded this epoch, this mission. If she communicated that something must be done, they were quick to comply with all loyalty. Many of them were killed that day. But it seemed the Lady of Dust had inspired all roaches already present in or near the palace to rise up and partake of the materials that were rapidly dying, and thereby entering their domain, for their numbers quickly began to overwhelm the humans, who sought shelter. This somewhat puzzled the cockroaches; they did not care what the humans did, and would not hurt them. The High Council of Allarian Mages, the most elite group of magic users the kingdom over, met immediately, to attempt to determine why this was happening, and how it may be stopped. They dove into the history books, and discovered lore regarding the Lady of Decay. A few of them proposed it might be relevant, but most were dubious, saying that this legend was a very localized one, in a far-flung corner of the kingdom, and there was nothing in the legends that implied Nypheria might become so openly aggressive. But they all had to wonder: not just roaches, but termites, maggots, and other similar beasties were emerging in droves, as other animals were becoming ill and dying in unprecedented numbers. It all... did seem to fall under her realm. In the end they had agreed on a few courses of action to protect the kingdom, but felt no closer to figuring out the cause of all this. In the meantime, Kirixir was making the most of the few months of life that remained for her, feasting on whatever she wanted, and producing many more eggs for the next generation - a process which Nypheria was accelerating to likewise accelerate the takeover of the kingdom of Allaria. She was so grateful to the Lady of Dust for giving her this opportunity, and would show her the utmost devotion. The mages, meanwhile, were enacting their plans, which involved isolating groups of the offending species and transforming them into other, similar creatures, ones which were not considered pests. Doing this was often easier than killing them without also damaging whatever else may be in the area and causing further destruction than there needed to be. The mages did, however, kill or capture many for study, to see if they could determine what may have brought this about. Weeks passed. Many citizens of Allaria abandoned the kingdom entirely, while some attempted to find safe havens within its borders. The land was in absolute turmoil, and some days the air was so thick with pests the sun was obscured.
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9/12/2020 7:48:11 AM
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