Afios

“They told us it would be an easy job. They had the plans to the building and a way in through the sewers. The guard routes were marked with times and they even knew who had called in sick that day. Easy work for just enough money to not arouse our suspicions. Easy…”

“When we got to the door from the sewers into the cellars of the building, we should have realized something was wrong. It was too new. The wood had no rot to it despite the damp. The metal didn’t have a spec of rust or corrosion. It was firm with a fresh lock, but still opened easy. Four Fingers barely broke a sweat opening it.”

“The map was spot on. Lots of twists and turns. The guards passed through at the time marked in our packet. Everything all worked just as planned. We all felt off, but hey, why couldn't one job go our way? Why can’t we get a ride on easy street at least once?”

“Well we didn’t when we got to the vault, and I think that is when we let our guard down. It was a different model than in the packet. A big new, modern monument to rich pricks hiding their riches and not spending it so we all can get well. Fuck them and fuck that vault. What a monster.”

“It took forever for Easy Street to get through. They got ears like a cat, but the lock was so soft, they had to work it at least a dozen times… And like idiots we just watched them work. Only Old Jack kept watch, only he was watching the door, not the ceiling. How we missed it, I don’t know.”

“Any road, we got the vault open and inside was a shit ton of loot. I mean everything. You could see it from our dim lantern light. Gems. Jewelry. Coins. Even a few paintings I assume were worth something. Easy Street, Four Fingers, and High Tide all walked in, mesmerized. No one looked up.”

“See, a good Guilder, we always look up. We look up. We look down. We look every fucking where cause this world sucks and all it takes is one slip up to bring it crashing down on top of you. They didn’t look up. Old Jack and I did though, and I ain’t never heard that bastard whisper a dark word till that moment.”

“It. Well, it oozed down over the entry to the vault. That is the only way I can describe it. Came straight down from the ceiling and blocked them all in. You could barely hear the screaming once they figured out what was up. The damn thing blocked the sound, mostly. Mostly, but not enough….”

“Old Jack and me. We ain’t no fools. You could kinda see through it and it was… Well it was eating our mates right in front of us. So we ran. We ran right out that fucking hole. Ran passed surprised guards and Old Jack. He’s a pip. He told them thieves were in the vault… And those fools… They ran in that direction. Ha!”

“Anyway, kid, that’s why you always look up, down, and every which way. It’s why Old Jack is still old and I got all my fingers.”

~ From Taubha’s Lesser Book of Names

Afios might be the most alien of the Horrors that arose out of the Madness. It has no true form but appears as a sort of expanding and contracting semi-solid liquid. Technically it is a member of House Heuegh, but no other member of that house has ever claimed to know Afios, what it wants, or if it is even sentient.

To use Afios in play is to introduce an unrelenting predator that is difficult to destroy. It wants nothing other than to consume living tissue, leaving in its wake bone and the works of mortals scoured clean. It can be a nasty surprise, showing up as part of a Twist in a dark and confined space or a stalking horror hunting the adventurers for unknown reasons.