[GodofGames] 11 – Rising Vermintide Part 1

[1944 Words]

[Sirus's Pov]

What could say many things about Rodents, their filthiness, their habit of carrying dangerous diseases and toxins, and even their propensity for eating one another, but what really stood out for the Skaven was just how fast they bred. A single female Skaven could give birth to a litter of a dozen, with the fewest Sirus having seen being six so far. However, with the minority being the females of the species, it was by pure luck that the Skaven were not already even more of a threat than they were.

Due to the women being already frailer than the typical male Skaven, they were usually always eaten, with only the luckier ones living to adulthood. Sirisus messaged Skrit and the Priest, and more females were being saved; however, there were plenty more for whom they could do nothing. Sirus hoped that for each Female they saved, they'd have another eventual Priest and Brood Mother for the Vermintide.

Sirus was not joking when it came to his dream of turning the Skaven into a force under his control, and with how fanatical and short-spanned their lives were due to how frail and sickly they were, they could be made into something truly ferocious if he got Kronk and Skrit strong enough to take over the Underkingdom.

However, as much as he wished to bring the Skaven under his influence, he realized that it would be a tough battle, due to the Skaven's nature of cannibalism, might makes right, cheating, cunning, and deceitful natures. He had no doubt that if Kronk became the new leader of the Skaven, he'd likely get stabbed in the back and replaced almost immediately after if a Skaven believed they could manage it, which was all of the Skaven.

He needed to find a way to prevent future in-fighting while also ensuring that the Strongest and most cunning Skaven led the Vermintide, one as a King, and the other as Sirus's Priest. That's when he had the idea: why not use some of his divine power to make it a quest, once he was ready, of course. A quest that would essentially be a Rite of Succession, with the strongest and most cunning being able to challenge the current King and Priest for their thrones and getting a reward if they succeed, while those who try to do it outside of the Rite will find themselves cursed or powerless. 

He was hoping to uplift the Skaven to the point where they could function without his direct oversight, but to do that, he'd need to give the Skaven goals —goals to keep them focused while also giving them a target to set their hatred on. Sirus had half a mind to direct them towards a fight against the Demons. The problem with that was how simple the Skaven were; there would be a good chance that they'd get possessed or deceived by demons and redirected back towards Sirus and any other Gods he worked with in the future.

The first thought Sirus had was to establish a sort of Inquisition to root out any future Demonic influence from the Vermintide. The problem with that was how greedy the Skaven were; they'd likely accuse all of their rivals of being Demon worshipers if given the chance, or start chaos so they could become the top boss.

The second thought he had was to integrate the Skaven into a more diverse racial group that would have more intelligent species to offer their own support, which raised another problem: the Skaven were extremely xenophobic and would likely try to kill or ensalve all they came across. The Skaven were ultimately just too aggressive for any long-term plan Sirus had in mind. At best, the Skaven would work as a good short-term race for Sirus, but would need to be abandoned in the future for a more suitable race that fits Sirus's criteria.

Perhaps there was another solution that he was not aware of, but until he could find one such solution, the Skaven would be a loose cannon that could accidentally set off a world war if a single thing went wrong. Regardless, he sent a new directive to the Skaven leadership.

Kronk was ordered to become the King of the Skaven, while Skrit was ordered to establish the Church of Sirius and begin pulling in as many Skaven as possible into the religion.

Sirius figured that this increase in faith gain would help him reach the next stage of his own evolution and become something more than a Fledgling God. With twenty-one Belivers under his belt, Sirus believed that if he kept up the gains, he'd eventually evolve into a Mature God by the end of the Year, if not far earlier, unless he could only grow and evolve with age, like a normal biological organism.

Something to ask about in his free time, for sure.

Until then, he'd watch and direct his forces where he could while keeping an eye out for any Demonic threat.

...

Meanwhile, in a different part of the world, Otis the Beggar, now a Rogue, was rising through the ranks of the local Adventurers' guild with his newly granted gifts by his Patron God, Sirus, the God of Games.

Seeing as he was a documented case of being the chosen of a new god, it was only right that, in his stupidity and blatant use of his Divine gifts, he was now in Prison. As it turns out, you needed to have a permit and documents to prove that you were indeed serving a God or were an official Mage in training or Mage trained by one of the Kingdom's Mage Towers, none of which Otis had or could show.

To top it all off, his unique skill set, which he claimed to have received from his god, was remarkably similar to the abilities used by the Cult of the Dark Moon, otherwise and officially known as the Assassins Guild, a heretical organization known to be secretive and to target Nobles and Merchants alike that lie high up on the hierarchy of the various Kingdoms.

It was a typical day for Otis at first. He was returning to the Adventurer's Guild with a stack of Goblin Ears, a lesser monster known for their cunning, trapping, and pillaging of Villages. This particular Goblin tribe had an added incentive to target vital merchant caravans supplying the Demonic Front with potions, weapons, armor, food, and other essentials.

With the Rogue's three major skills proving extraordinarily effective in dark areas, it was a walk in the park for Otis to clear out Goblin dens that lacked lighting with his being able to leap through shadows and strike Goblins in the back with his dagger, causing ciritical damage that usually ruptuted the Goblin's hearts or blood vessles across their bodies, killing them instantly. If anything, Otis has gotten proficient at slaying beasts since he fled from the Demonic invasion front, having to constantly fight more and more monsters that too fled from the Demonic incursion.

Yet, when he stepped foot into the frontier city he had called home for the past week, he was very surprised to be met with a contingent of Paladins waiting for him outside of the Inn he stayed in for the night.

"Otis the Beggar! You are under arrest for suspicion of treason, being a member of the Cult of the Dark Moon, suspicion of attacking Trading Caravans, and suspicion of Manslaughter. How do you plead?!" Shouted the lead Paladin of one of he local and sanctioned Churches.

Otis, in his infinite wisdom, wisely responded with, "Huh?"

From there, Otis was captured and brought to the local Church of the God of Vigilance, led by Etton. It was there that Otis was stripped of his gear, weapons, and items and left only in rags that barely protected him from the harsh and wet cold of his cell.

It was there that Otis sat in boredom for nearly two days before he was dragged in shackles to an interrogation chamber and was seated before two Priests and a Paladin who stood by the door into the chamber.

"For the record, state your name and affiliations. Failure to comply will result in measures being taken to either obtain this information or permanent imprisonment. Is this understood?" One of the Priests of Etton asked, their skin fair and looking more like a Noble than any Commoner, his form of speech flying right over Otis's head.

"What?" Otis asked, confused and not understanding a thing that was going on.

"Speak your name and affiliations," The Priest of Etton spoke again.

"Otis? And what are affiliations?" Otis asked, not understanding.

"Who have you worked for? Who are you working for at the moment? Is it true that you work for a God you call Sirus? Who is Sirus? What Divine Domains does this 'Sirus' embody? Do you work for demons?" The lead Priest continued their barrage of questions, making Otis stutter and look between the three in confusion, prompting the priest by the other one's side to elbow him in the side.

"He's clearly not the brightest. Ask your questions one at a time, or else we'll be here all day," the Paladin spoke up, clearly growing more annoyed by the minute.

Sighing, the Priest of Etton questioned very slowly and eloquently, "What is your full God-Given name?" 

"Otis," Otis answered, giving the name he was given upon his birth.

"Where were you born, Otis?" The Priest continued when the crystal on the table flashed an azure blue.

"I do not know? I assume in some church in some frontier city, but I have no idea what city it could have been," Otis answered truthfully, the crystal once again glowing an azure blue at his answer.

The questions only kept coming, leaving Otis without a moment to breathe before being asked another question. The Priest inquired about where he was born, the year he was born, and whether he had any friends or family still among the living. He replied that they had all died when he was younger due to various problems common in Frontier Towns.

"You joined the Adventurer's Guild, correct? Were there any other Guilds you joined?" The Priest of Etton asked.

"I joined the Thieves Guild when I was younger, but I broke off contact with them when the last town I was in got caught up in the Demonic Invasion," Otis answered to the best of his ability.

"Is that where you obtained the gifts of your so-called God?" The Palladin of Etton asked, trying to get a rise out of Otis to little effect.

"Yes, Ser. I was mere moments away from ending up as Imp Food when my God spoke to me, offering me strength to fight back in exchange for my faith and belief," Otis proudly shared.

"What is this God's name?" The Priest asked.

"Sirus, I believe," Otis answered, watching as the crystal was shown in Azure while the three men opposite to him looked at one another.

"What domains does your God embody?" The Paladin eventually asked.

"Games, I believe," Otis spoke truthfully, much to the bafflement of the three before him, who looked at the Crystal that continued to shine azure.

"Games...?" The Palladin questioned, not understanding.

"That's right, ser! Sirus, the God of Games," Otis answered with a bright smile.

While the three scratched their heads in confusion, Sirus watched it all with slight amusement before his expression turned grave.

[Otis. Warn the town. The Demonic Invasion encroaches and shall reach the city within the next few hours.]