Его не звали, но он приперся / They never called, yet he is here: Эпилог

Epilogue

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Camrad_RIP 02.02.23 в 10:47

I officially declare to everyone who hears me that I am beginning to fear Hestia. And in general, women are the scariest creatures in the universe, or at least in the top ten. In all seriousness, when I returned to the mirror camp and shrugged off my comrades' questions, I immediately went to bed - regenerating the scar from the lash had taken too much energy. I only had time to assure my comrades that I was all right and that I was the worst thing around. But the next day, when I made a quick run to the orc tribe's camp and assessed what was going on, I began to wonder which of us was scarier.

Camrad_RIP 02.02.23 в 10:59

The first thing worth noting is the density of the fog created by Hestia. The density is primarily for sensory skills. A circle of three kilometers radius was covered by this energy like the thinnest layer of cobwebs, with a three-meter layer of candyfloss underneath. The vicious power of the mist indeed seemed sweet, so sweet that it was intoxicating better than any drink or drug. At the far reaches, when one was just entering this tangle of debauchery, the influence and density of the energy were relatively harmless, but deep into the treated area, the concentration was truly frightening.

Camrad_RIP 08.02.23 в 16:02

In terms of pure danger, so far, during my absence, Hestia had not yet managed to subjugate her surroundings really completely. Even the lightest cover of Shadow energy, halved by the use of the Gaze, was dampening all possible influences on me. I mean, if the mistress of the mist decided to use those very influences on me. The problem was that, unaware of the presence of the mist, noticing its effects was indeed very difficult, even for me, with my skills and over-pumped intuition.

Camrad_RIP 08.02.23 в 16:03

The senses, native and systems alike, simply refused to notice and perceive the mist as another threat - it did not threaten, did not hurt, and, most importantly, had virtually no trace of energy. I suppose in the beginning, when Hestia was just starting her crowning skill, it was easier to notice anything wrong. But after a week and a half of processing not only the brains and bodies of orcs and goblins but also the distortion-prone territory itself, I could only discern the faintest little things.

Camrad_RIP 08.02.23 в 16:04

They, these little things, wouldn't have caused me any alarm if I didn't know for sure that there was to be an alarm. The signature of the natural magical currents at the edge of the mist and the usual forest didn't match up a bit - that's what often happens with weather anomalies, not to mention the protective spells of the orcs themselves, who were not shy about covering their stronghold with whatever they had and knew how to do. Shadows within the Closed Field of Corruption behaved strangely - they were still easily manipulated, but there was a subtle lag, or on the contrary, too quick a response. Well, that is more suspicious, but to draw attention to it, one must first set these shadows in motion to detect a pattern. Few individuals may suddenly feel the need to run several dozen tests just out of interest.

Camrad_RIP 08.02.23 в 16:07

Anyway, I have to confess to myself that this sort of thing, as long as it doesn't try to affect me, is too difficult for me to grasp. It's when it tries to get into my brain that things take a completely different turn. Whatever plugs are on the third (not chocolate) eye at this point, but the only way I could miss direct influence would be if I were sound asleep... if it weren't for the strong connection with the Dream. I would notice changes in myself even faster in my sleep than when I was awake.

Camrad_RIP 08.02.23 в 16:08

These were the kinds of thoughts I ran through my head as I reassured myself and moved leisurely towards the orcs' apartment block to brighten the time and calm my anxiety. I could have just used the Steps, but I wanted to appreciate not only the green tits of the groomed girls but also the area itself, its defenses, and camouflage. The latter was good - the area was still a long way from being completely encapsulated, but most of the scanners could be fooled right now. If we could find some more mirrors to repeat the protection on our camp, then we could start a much more active pumping.

Camrad_RIP 08.02.23 в 17:28

At least, we won't have to spend most of our time trying to save at least some of the loot, which will allow us to spend all our efforts on leveling up. And dismantling monsters for parts orcs will do fine, thankfully for them such a thing is not new - they also have their own alchemists and enchanters, although they are inferior to such among the endowed races. And just having someone to cook you food, heat up the bathroom and even give you a massage is a great motivator to make you feel like a gentleman. Fun and cheerful, we're shooting por... no, that's a different tune.

Camrad_RIP 08.02.23 в 17:30

Though from what I've seen, from ours too.

Camrad_RIP 08.02.23 в 17:30

The orcs have changed.

Camrad_RIP 08.02.23 в 17:31

It wasn't even felt so much in appearance, though not without that, as for my class senses. The appearance was not the most important thing in this situation, especially when working with such a powerful distorting talent as Hestia's Mist. It wasn't even about the riddled changes in the bodies and statuses of the green-skinned, which was easily sensed by the same sphere. The whole point was how they began to think.

Camrad_RIP 08.02.23 в 17:45

I'm not a fucking telepath, but with my clairvoyance score, one can determine a creature's whole life by the color of his socks without any gimmicks. And this very life, thinking, essence, if you will, has changed dramatically. So radically, in fact, that they are now only on the level of the cult creatures memorable from the Kraj. I would not even risk calling these creatures Orcs and Goblins, agreeing with the System, which renamed them.

Camrad_RIP 08.02.23 в 17:47

Some were labeled Lust-warped, some Servants of Vice, but no more just Orcs and Goblins - there was always a note specifying the new status of the units. I was thoroughly enclosed in all spectra and wrapped in my native shadows like a favorite blanket, but I'm sure that even if I emerged from the cloak, there would be no danger to me. Well, not unless I was being overwhelmed by green female bodies, but I was running away from Ygra, let alone any orcs, even if they were modified.

Camrad_RIP 08.02.23 в 17:49

Hestia was still very diligent in her task, albeit not without an army peculiarity - she was told to make orcs into relatively combat-ready servants, slaves, and porters, and she did. Orcs and goblins. Of males. And she has made a threefold score in women's field - either following Taria's orders or simply dumping the main blow of corruption on women, obviously thinking that men - neither us nor orcs - won't mind.

Camrad_RIP 08.02.23 в 17:50

All the males looked like robots, dull-witted robots. The absent gaze, the mechanical execution of tasks, and the total emptiness in their heads. It was as if all the thoughts, skills, and abilities that were not responsible for the work and the battle had been sucked out of their brains. It is possible that it was literally sucked out with the help of the female population of the camp.

Camrad_RIP 08.02.23 в 17:51

The clairvoyance was working, revealing to me all the details of Hestia's work, not too interested in my desire to know those details. The mist couldn't help but change, couldn't help but distort, but the direction of change was entirely at the mercy of the mist mistress. In theory, Hestia might not have applied any perverse concepts at all, limiting herself to the mind, but that increased the risk of breakdown or rebellion. In general, the more changes, the more reliable and powerful the binding.

Camrad_RIP 08.02.23 в 17:58

The men, as has already been said, got quite the same thing - increased endurance, strength, and survivability by turning them into a kind of bull producer and total deprivation of their will. The entire "leadership" of the tribe fucked their broads for days, giving away part of themselves with each orgasm until they became reasonable and even quite useful but furniture. It was like the death penalty, only pleasant and without the death penalty.

Camrad_RIP 08.02.23 в 18:06

In theory, the tribe could even continue to exist - tamed orcs could both hunt and fight, and the order of the women who had taken power would be enough to reproduce. But I have doubts about the efficiency of such warriors. Whatever they say about orcs, they're quite clever and tactically proficient, qualities that have been fucked out of those green-skinned folk. My orders, however, were well and truly obeyed, for these meat puppets would accomplish their purpose with aplomb. The casualties might be higher, but we wouldn't worry about that - there was plenty of material.

Camrad_RIP 08.02.23 в 18:10

Women are a different matter altogether.

Camrad_RIP 08.02.23 в 18:11

Their brains, will and imagination were almost completely intact, but what brains and imagination they were! I would not say that my mind was boiling, but there was a certain amount of feeling, expressed by the phrase "How you could think of that," which made my hair stand on end and my eyes pop out of their sockets. You could tell which part of the tribe Hestia was really working on, and which part she was just doing for fuck's sake.

Camrad_RIP 08.02.23 в 18:12

Speaking of Hestia! Slowly but surely, the figure of a woman began to emerge right in front of my face, gradually compacting and taking on materiality. Unlike me, she was not using stealth, but the surrounding orcs and goblins were not paying any attention to her, though no doubt they must have noticed her.

Camrad_RIP 08.02.23 в 18:20

"Greetings, Tin." The rustling of the young monster's voice didn't bother me now, but it helped distract me from the madness going on around me. "How is the esteemed Taria? I have a few questions for her if you please."

Camrad_RIP 08.02.23 в 18:20

"Oh, she can't wait for you to ask them," I answered with a slight tinge of a malevolent smile. "Just don't hurt each other, to the delight of your enemies."

Camrad_RIP 08.02.23 в 18:21

I don't feel particularly happy about conflicts arising in the group, come to think of it. But Taria was being diligent, clearly provoking Hestia. And during her argument, she'd overstepped the boundaries of humiliation. And Raimel is a proud young lady, even if she isn't vicious, фтв she will fight back. Even without clairvoyance, I know she won't do anything truly dangerous to the health of any but her companion, but other than that... I won't get in the way. Let them sort it out, and I'll see what the result is.

Camrad_RIP 08.02.23 в 18:23

If the situation becomes critical, I will not hesitate to intervene, to pour cold water, so to speak, on the fighting cats. But until then, I will take a neutral position, however cowardly that may seem. There is no doubt that I can nip any conflict in the squad in the bud with the help of my heroic charisma and my clairvoyance. Only I'm pretty sure I'd rather let the two beauties come to a truce on their own. They're both clever enough, and Taria herself knows she's overreacted. Hestia, on the other hand, is too logical and phlegmatic at her core to seriously bite the bullet.

Camrad_RIP 08.02.23 в 18:25

"Thank you for your understanding." A slight nod of the misty head. "Would you like to hear a progress report?"

Camrad_RIP 08.02.23 в 18:26

She's proud of her work, and I bet it's far from fulfilling Taria's order for green boobs. It's my commission. I can't pinpoint (or rather I can, but I don't want to waste my clairvoyance resource on it) all the mutations put on the greenies, but even what leaks out at a fleeting glance... commands respect, to say the least, not to mention the tightness of the trousers. The latter, however, is precisely the consequence of a lost wager.

Camrad_RIP 08.02.23 в 18:29

"Well, go ahead and brag," I answered, taking a seat on the nearest rock and stepping out of stealth.

Camrad_RIP 08.02.23 в 18:29

I didn't remove the basic manifestation of the Aegis, even though I'm sure Hestia controls the vice quite skillfully. I'm not sure if it's a form of paranoia, but it's a powerful and insidious effect. The lack of stealth, by the way, has not changed the reaction of the surrounding monsters - they have not paid any attention. They can see with their eyes, but it's as if they have filters in their heads.

Camrad_RIP 08.02.23 в 18:35

I didn't have to ask the woman twice, and she can do the reports better than all of us put together.

Camrad_RIP 08.02.23 в 18:36

One of the cleverest decisions Hestia had made was to instill cleanliness in her subjects. Not that the greenhorns were all that dirty and stinky, for hunting as a fragrant piece of shit was a non-trivial task, but it was close. The outpost looked like a huge dump where only the tunneled rocky peak was relatively clean. They were not supposed to shit there, or they would simply drown in their filth, and even then, those caves could not be called clean.

Camrad_RIP 08.02.23 в 18:39

After the effects of the Mist, the inhabitants of the hut engaged in a veritable army-style scrubbing, literally scrubbing all hard surfaces to a shine. Those surfaces that were not hard were first tamped down and then scrubbed to a shine. Amid the constant labor, changes in the appearance of the inhabitants were much more imperceptible, even without regard to the effects on the mind.

Camrad_RIP 08.02.23 в 18:40

By the time the purging was finished, Hestia had already run her tentacles so deep into the barbarians' brains that she was no longer afraid of being exposed at all. After that, the more intricate work began, reminiscent of some ultimate perverse character creation for a computer game. The only difference was that they had to create not just one character but a whole crowd.

Camrad_RIP 08.02.23 в 18:41

All changes and mutations made by Hestia have been subject to three basic directives. They must be safe for our company or deactivable in case of insecurity. It is highly desirable that the enhancements derived from the Mist can be useful not only for amusement but also for combat use. And, of course, we are mindful of Taria's request the altered monsters will also become a walking harem for our entire group of villainous villains.

Camrad_RIP 08.02.23 в 18:46

That was what she based her work on, and that was what she worked with, so it was not at all surprising that that was what she got. Not without some rough edges, but she had time and material on which she was allowed to practice her attempts. Hestia's methodicalness and diligence were the former golem handler's calling cards altogether. She merely approached the task at hand as another operation or test run.

Camrad_RIP 08.02.23 в 18:51

She managed to spot some patterns quite quickly that helped with the Mist. The first and most logical one was the dependence of the power and number of available mutations on the level, characteristics, and talents of the original material. In theory, by focusing on a single target, she could stuff even a first-level minnow with perks and talents. Only with high-level material will the process go faster, the result will be better, and the limit of "maximum stuffing" will be much higher.

Camrad_RIP 08.02.23 в 18:53

The second breakthrough was the realization that some particular mutations depended on the character and personality traits of the individual. For example, one of the orcs who can sing quite well and even inspire with her singing (a moderately lousy blessing, but for the whole group) received a vocal cord mutation much more easily. Now her singing can not only impose blessings but also a very wide list of controlling effects. From trivial weakness and clumsiness to lullaby right into combat, uncontrollable passion, limited memory manipulation, or even complete loss of free will for long periods, or even putting a not-too-complicated behavioral program into the brain.

Camrad_RIP 08.02.23 в 18:58

But the other orcs woman, not a warrior at all, who liked to gossip, had a far more interesting talent for creating a curse suspended in the Astral. Lkana could invent a gossip about someone, latching onto the minds of those who heard the gossip. The more people who heard the gossip, the more the curse could take hold in reality. And when the gossip reaches the person it was created about...

Camrad_RIP 08.02.23 в 19:00

Let the text of the rumor be a statement that some Garsha, a warrior, a strong woman, and in general a dominator of dominators, whom even men feared like fire (before the advent of the Mist), actually loves to suck some Thar, a very young and therefore weak and not respected warrior, who is not a warrior yet, because he did not go into real battle yet. In a normal situation Garsha, having heard such gossip, will kick both the gossipmonger and the author of the gossip and Thar (the latter just for the company) in the teeth. And it's good if there's no funeral - for the head of the small horde, that is a detachment of ten to fifty warriors (in Garsha's case, she commands only sixteen units), can kill for such accusations. She's not a bitch from the chief's harem to suck dick!

Camrad_RIP 08.02.23 в 19:05

But she hears the gossip, which almost the entire tribe already knows, and upon hearing it, realizing what has been said, activates the second part of the curse, which has matured and intensified, being infused with astral energy. Activation occurs, and images and visions flow into Garsha's head, making her believe the gossip and begin to accept it as reality, the truth that has always been true. Giving a gossipy person a kick in the teeth won't stop her, but it will really start, at times, sucking up to Thar. And more and more gossip follows - that she only comes from sucking, that she likes the very taste of the process, that she never wanted to be a warrior at all, that she would like to be Thar's woman...

Camrad_RIP 08.02.23 в 19:07

So instead of the vicious and bloodthirsty cutthroat, we have the submissive wife, who, of course, like any orc, is bloodthirsty, and can kick in the teeth but certainly has no right to hold the position of the head of the pack. And she will never be taken to the campaign again - having agreed to become a hearth keeper, she will stay in the camp to watch the kids and occasionally remember what a fool she was, that she wanted blood and carnage, and not such a happy life as she has now.

Camrad_RIP 08.02.23 в 19:08

A strong talent, at the level of a solid epic, but still not up to the level of legend, mainly because of the need to "gain weight" by increasing the number of people who have heard about the gossip and because of the growth of the curse is easy to notice. This is truly an ideal weapon against a warrior whose talents and skills are honed on chopping with an axe - if she can sense a threat (which is unlikely since she hasn't been harmed directly), she won't have time to find out where it's coming from. For someone with high magical stats or the right class, it's hard to fool her - she'll notice it, and if she doesn't, it's not certain that the Astral bash can successfully rewrite her consciousness.

Camrad_RIP 08.02.23 в 19:10

A third example is Mtran, who is a hunter and scout... but more of a spy and scout. She was no master of the best cutthroats in the tribe but had a couple of talents for which she was valued in the raids. For example, the ability to whisper a short message that could be heard by her female tribesmen a couple of hundred meters away. You could say it was a real radiogram, only without any radio.

Camrad_RIP 08.02.23 в 19:11

After the Mist treatment, this ability of hers mutated into something quite amazing and brainwracking. No, she hadn't lost the ability to whisper into the ear of someone standing far away, though the range of her talent had diminished a bit. It would be more fun if she whispered something close to the person to whom the whisper was addressed. So there's the talk of a big man who thinks scouts are unlikeable, and Mtran replies.

Camrad_RIP 08.02.23 в 19:16

Except that at times, between individual phrases, her lips move as if to say something, but the words are inaudible. Not heard at all! But after the first such phrase, spoken with her mouth alone, he will stop insulting her and try to provoke a beating, after the second, he will gain sympathy, after the third, he will follow her to the far corner of the camp, and then he will polish the scout pussy with too long tongue. The scout will leave, and the impertinent freak will remain polishing his spear, recalling the taste and smell of his new love while at the same time contemplating how he can persuade her to have another episode of such pastime.

Camrad_RIP 08.02.23 в 19:19

"You don't want to insult me" is the first sentence.

Camrad_RIP 08.02.23 в 19:19

"You don't think scouts are unworthy of being warriors" is the second sentence.

Camrad_RIP 08.02.23 в 19:19

"Follow me, desire me" is the third.

Camrad_RIP 08.02.23 в 19:20

The whispering is actually just as good as before. It's just that now it's not you who hears it, but your subconscious mind. And this kind of truth, having broken into the mind, is capable of rewriting opinions and desires quite well. And fifty phrases are very enough to create a submissive puppet. Quickly, cunningly and inconspicuously. Cultists from the Kraj were supposedly capable of something similar, but they hadn't had a chance to show me their talents in that branch - they died too quickly, and I wasn't really vulnerable to such tricks myself. But against someone less well-powered, such a trick would be a gift from heaven.

Camrad_RIP 08.02.23 в 19:21