TW: references to past torture, fantasy religion, references to past consensual relationship, VAGUE reference to possibility of noncon and how it didn’t happen.
There was a brief hissing noise and a whiff of sulfur to Alsander’s left, further into the alley, as a doorway opened in what had been the solid stone of a wall.
With a flicker of red light, a cloaked figure stepped out into the alley, turned, and stared at him. “Harrow—!” Then she was there in front of him, her hood dropping about her shoulders, patting his chest as if to be sure he was solid and real, raising a soft hand to touch his face. “You’re alive, it’s you!”
He caught her hand gently. “Risha… Don’t, please— Not like that— I can’t.“
“Harrow— Nine Hells, what happened to you??” said Risha, tears filling her huge dark eyes. She was a succubus, and in her current form of a pale human woman with ample curves and sheets of blue-black hair; no horns, wings, or tail in evidence now. “I couldn’t find you!! I’ve been looking everywhere, and all I could get was that you hadn’t left this plane, but you were just gone! Where were you? Who did this to you??”
This is a series in the same homebrew fantasy world D&D 5E setting as Harrow and his friends, a world called Tsanet.
Please heed the TWs at the top of each one, this is kinda dark.
If you like Recovery Stories, you can start with Strange Brothers, the second part of this ongoing story. Scroll down!
General TW: Slavery, dehumanization, conditioning, torture, religious abuse, forced cannibalism, non-con touch, non/dubcon/r*pe implied rather than explicit but still
“Martin pushed himself out of the sand, spitting blood. He’d just been hit across the mouth and didn’t like it much. If he bruised, then Mistress Ulet would- Well, that didn’t matter anymore, he was well out of her hands and that was the trouble. The woman who had ruled the pleasure house with an iron fist was no longer his biggest fear.”
(If you haven’t found @redwingedwhump’s Solis series — or any of their writing — yet, then you need to get on it! In fact: you can find the masterlist here.)
The worst part about a hike, uphill, in the snow, while injured, in the dark, was that Saith was doing it with the howls of wolves echoing around him in the foothills. If he could just get further into these hills, where the feet of the mountains really began, he might be able to find some kind of cave or shelter where they couldn’t get to him. And maybe even a place to rest for the night.
Gods, he wanted to rest. Well, to be precise, he wanted to fall down and pass out. But he couldn’t do that yet, not even when every step for the last few miles had been agony on his scarred right knee.
HI! This story is still an ongoing series! With a plot and plans ahead! The Plague had me pretty de-railed from writing steadily, but I AM still writing this anyway!
Lily belongs to @whumpqhs and Tristan to @adarhysenthe and this would not get written without them.
TW: food, fantasy religion, internalized ableism, whumpee becoming accustomed to visible disability and loss of former self image and the strangeness associated, mind control mention, touch aversion, PTSD triggering, panic attack
Tristan spent the next week helping Alsander to eat regular meals and regain a little strength. Lily, of course, continued fussing over San the whole time, but some of what Emmet said seemed to be slowly sinking in. She would still awkwardly change the subject if future plans were ever discussed. Emmet, meanwhile, was being introduced to squire life in the Temple. He still took time out to see the friends when he had his breakfast or luncheon breaks, and excitedly tell them about things he was learning.
Once Alsander could shuffle around upright for longer than a few minutes, they agreed that it was time to see a barber, get San a good walking stick, and maybe even find a ring of mind shielding. His dreams had been quiet since the soul-wound had been healed, and he was improving more rapidly for the rest he’d been getting, but he still didn’t like the idea of Conroy possibly being able to send thoughts to his head. The walking stick was the definite need, first and foremost. The more time San could spend moving, the stronger he’d get.
Tristan shrugged on his clerical robes over his more casual tunic and trousers, then helped to get some boots on Alsander’s feet. “You ready? You can lean on my arm until we get you that stick.”
Made possible by @whumpqhsand@adarhysenthe who are responsible for Lily and Tristan, respectively.
TW: Arguments, murder mention, fantasy religion, very skewed worldview of trauma survivor, aftermath of torture
Tristan went to Alsander’s private room in the Healing Halls, knocking once before he moved to open the door to warn his skittish charges he was coming in. “I’m back.”
At his knock, the door opened and Lily slipped out, looking tired and a little tense. “He’s asleep…"
Halted, Tristan backed up to give her space to get through the door. “That’s alright, I want to talk to you in private anyway. About your…” He touched his own ears.
all of your dnd characters are now adventuring together as a single group. what’s that party lookin like and how fucked are they
OH NO like even JUST some of the D&D Denizens and it’s already messed up:
Audren- Half orc fighter- Lawful Good- definitely in charge here because otherwise we’d all be dead.
Brother Martin- Human Cleric- Chaotic Good- probably the only reason Alsander hasn’t killed anybody; he’s good at the Disappointed Face.
Alec- Tiefling Barbarian- Chaotic Good- Would like to know what is going on thanks.
Alsander- Human Warlock- Lawful Neutral- well, neutralish. Problem Child and disaster planner. “What do you mean we can’t threaten them?”
Saith- Formerly-Human warlock/Ranger- Chaotic Good- Aliven’t. Weirdo. Why is he here? He keeps talking to a BIRD. At least we aren’t lost.
(I ended up with a lot of “A” names. huh)
Oh this bunch would be a disaster.
Since when is Alsander lawful anything??
He’s got his own code and he sticks to it even when he was evil he’s lawful evil. A lot of stuff he wouldn’t do. Like involve kids in any of his crime. Or snitch to the City Watch. As I see it, Lawful ain’t Legal, it’s ‘He Has Rules’.
Oh no, I get that but his rules are chaos XD
“No one asked them to make sense! I’m a hedonist, not a dog-kicker. Criminals too often lack standards. Tch. Amateurs.” -Harrow
