<span class="bbc_font" style="font-family: monotype corsiva;"><em><span class="bbc_size" style="font-size: 24pt;"><strong>Cult of the Damned</strong></span></em></span><br/><span class="bbc_font" style="font-family: monotype corsiva;"><em><span class="bbc_size" style="font-size: 14pt;">A Wickedly Evil D&amp;D 5e Campaign Set in the Forgotten Realms</span></em></span><br/><br/><span class="bbc_font" style="font-family: monotype corsiva;"><em><span class="bbc_size" style="font-size: 18pt;"><strong>Dramatis Personae</strong></span></em></span><br/><ul class="bbc_list"><li>Maldred, Male Half-Elf Cleric (Malcanthet) 1</li><li>Adelaide Meeks, Female Half-Elf Bard 1</li><li>Cassandra Blackbriar, Female Tiefling Sorceress (Draconic) 1</li><li>Jasmine Whispers, Female Human Rogue 1</li><li>Sena 'Temptation' Wilddraft, Female Human Warlock (Fiend Pact) 1</li><li>Remi Frostborn, Female Human Barbarian 1</li></ul><br/><span class="bbc_font" style="font-family: monotype corsiva;"><em><span class="bbc_size" style="font-size: 18pt;"><strong>Introduction</strong></span></em></span><br/><span class="bbc_font" style="font-family: monotype corsiva;"><em><span class="bbc_size" style="font-size: 14pt;">Following on from the preludes contained within: Cult of the Damned: Characters (https://elliquiy.com/forums/index.php?topic=269826.0)</span></em></span><br/><br/><div class="floatright">(http://vignette3.wikia.nocookie.net/bladesandbeasts/images/7/7e/Lilith.png/revision/latest?cb=20140321182846)</div>In the lingering moment since the final breath had been extinguished from their bodies, a pervasive darkness had settled in for seemed like an eternity for those who had now passed from the mortal world. The air here was empty and cold; an endless void that seemed to consume everything within reach and lingered, disturbingly, for an immeasurable amount of time until, without warning, a sudden and intense wave of nausea washes over them as they emerge in another place that is foreign but somehow strangely familiar. Not as flesh and blood, as they once had been, but as a strange coalescence of fluid that has somehow gained consciousness. Several independent figures who somehow now seem equally alien in this unusual place, without any of the clothing or possessions they had in life.<br/><br/>As they become aware of their surroundings, they find themselves in an imposing, open-air chamber; a bizarre palace, amidst verdant surrounding hills and basking in the orange glow of the most glorious of sunsets. The great pillars and walls that surround them stretch high above, hewn from the most beautiful white marble and adorned with prominent statues of figures in a vast array of sensual poses in a truly magnificent other-worldly scene. At the center of the chamber is an impressive, ornate throne that seems to be a strange paradox of the most luxurious velvet cushions, somehow surrounded by an assortment of fearsome blades and hooks that would quickly eviscerate any creature foolish enough to come within reach.<br/><br/>Atop the throne sits a terrifyingly beautiful, dark-haired woman with the most striking features imaginable. She is practically naked and undeniably possesses the perfect female form, with flawless features and a conspicuous presence that permeates every inch of this chamber as she reclines, casually, on her throne. The wickedly curved horns that protrude from her brow hold back her long, straight, dark hair and frame her astonishingly attractive face with eyes that smoulder with a dangerous red sensuality. Large, leathery, bat-like wings stretch from her back - the joints of which are laced with razor-like claws and adorned with the most beautiful jewellery, with a sinuous tail that ends in a thin curved spike and completes this image of demonic beauty.<br/><br/>She wears a sardonic smile on her ruby red lips and regards each of the new arrivals with the look she might give a new plaything.<strong>“Well...”</strong>She says, finally, in a dark, dusky, ominous tone that does little to conceal the delight in her voice.<strong>“It would seem that your journey has finally brought you here.”</strong>She pauses, taking a deep breath, as if to prolong the pleasure she finds in this moment as she taps a series of viciously manicured, crimson nails in a sequence against the surface her chair.<strong>“I’ve been waiting... and watching... you for some time now.”</strong><br/><br/>Her voice finishes abruptly as she appraises each the newcomers in turn.