62 Confrontations And Curveballs (1/2)
A few minutes after Troik's arrival, I looked at the little goblin and readied myself to tell him the truth. I knew that if I didn't handle this delicately it might be unnecessarily complicated, so I took a second to steady myself and prepare to deliver some bad news, and then some great news.
I closed my eyes, while still patting Troik, and channeled my inner divine voice. As soon as I felt confident in my ability to channel the sort of pride I felt gods ought to show, I spoke telepathically to Troik, pretending to be Cosecha.
”Hello little one.” I said, politely greeting the tiny creature. I quickly heard a loud and energetic reply from the little guy. The goblin turned and looked in Cosecha's direction, before swiftly letting go of me and dashing over to stand where the creature was facing.
”Hello Cosecha! How are you?” He asked, speaking eagerly as if to an old friend. I smiled, though Troik didn't notice this as the tiny goblin was now a bit away from me.
”I am well. How are you?” I asked, curiously. I wondered how the goblin had slept and what time my friend had awoken. It was now mid-morning, and the day was gradually progressing, even if it felt like today had dragged on for a bit.
I wondered about my friend would respond to my question. I thought and hoped that the tiny goblin was having a good day, but I also considered the real possibility that he wasn't. It'd make sense for him to be scared, and would in fact be wise for him to be. Troik considered my question for a second before answering it honestly.
”I'll be honest with you Cosecha... I'm scared.” The green fellow confessed. This surprised me, but not entirely. I mean I hadn't expected a solid admission of fear from the creature, but I was expecting the guy to be afraid.
On my first day of life, I had encountered him far from the other goblins, alone and stuck in a trap. I rescued him, but shortly afterward a demon that was possessing him revealed itself and fled, taking him with it. I was able to free him from the demon's ability to control him, but the demon itself has lingered in him. Today, in the next few minutes even, I planned to change that.
”It's okay to be afraid Troik. But today is the day you get your life back. Today is the day we defeat this creature and drive it out of you, once and for all.” I explained, speaking as Cosecha and informing the goblin as to the plan.
Based on what I had been told about demons earlier and the fact that it seemed that I was about to have a confrontation with a demon I was able to make an inference as to what would happen when I cured the disease: the demon possessing my friend would likely be expelled from Troik. When that happened it'd most likely fall on me to either defeat the thing or trick others into thinking I had beaten it.
”Cosecha” looked at Troik and made eye-contact with him. The two were silent for a moment before Cosecha began to mentally speak once more.
”When you're ready I'm going to cure you of the demonic infection you're suffering from. I won't do it until you're ready though, so take your time. This will mark the first time I've cured someone of a magical disease, so I want you to feel comfortable and be ready when I do.” I explained, to a gently nodding Troik.
The goblin went ahead and sat down. And then he mentally spoke to me. His message was simple. ”I'm ready. I'm ready to be cured. To be freed. Please.” He told me, asking for his freedom. I smiled and mentally messaged my elven allies and my dryadic high-priestess.
”It's time. Ready yourselves. I don't want anyone else to be at risk. I don't fully know what'll happen when I cure Troik of the disease he's suffering from, a demonic infection. I suspect that when I do that the demon that has forced Troik's body to accommodate it will be expelled. If it is I intend to destroy it.” I explained, informing everyone present aside from the trees I had animated of the uncertainty of the next few moments.
Raiz backed up, looking to me to keep her safe. The elves stood up and backed up. Farrane rose her hands in the direction of the goblin, and Calorron put his hands on his bow. I could sense that they were ready for violence. I chuckled but did so quietly enough that they didn't notice.
I waited a second before I activated my power. I double-checked on my allies, they looked more ready than ever. With a smile on my face I quietly targeted Troik, and activated my ability to cure diseases. I watched as radiant energy washed over the goblin, bathing him in resplendent light.
Troik began to shake, his body vibrating violently. My companions tensed up, and I readied myself for whatever was about to happen. As Troik shook, I noticed that there was a relieved smile on his face. And then I received a welcome notification.
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[Alert: You have successfully cured the goblin named Troik of ”Demonic infection”. Your ability to cure diseases has meshed with your ability to learn about and infect creatures with diseases.
A new disease has been added to your repertoire of biological warfare. You can now infect someone with 'Demonic infection'.
Demonic infection information: This nasty disease opens up even the strongest-willed beings to possession. Its symptoms are all largely unserious, aside from the fact that those infected by it become over 50% easier to possess. The disease has an incubation period of three hours but sadly isn't contagious. Possessed creatures cannot transmit the disease.
Demonic infection symptoms when a mortal is infected: Headaches, irritability, increased libido, greater sinful behavior in general, and finally significantly enhanced susceptibility to possession.
Special note: As a lord of lust there are two minor edits you can make to the disease within yourself.
You can choose to transmit this disease to mortals by engaging in lustful acts with them, and you can give demons who serve you a special version of this disease that spreads to mortals who engage in lustful acts with them. If you want to further edit this disease, you need to gain more influence over the domain of disease.