‘Achoo!’ the sneeze from Clear Clutter caused an echo around the old storage room on the upper floors of Lord Tenebrous’s castle. She stopped her work for a moment, hoping that she hadn’t dislodged any dust from the huge oak beams above her head that would cause more sneezing.
‘Do watch the dust, Clear.’ advice that was given too late by Dusty Rag, the Head Cleaner who was overseeing and helping with the clean up. Three other bat ponies were also working on various jobs in the space, moving furniture and polishing up surfaces. Probably removing a good few hundred years worth of dust and cobwebs. They were currently preparing one of the upper storage rooms of the castle for renovation. Lord Tenebrous was due to host an event in the coming months for more guests than usual, which necessitated more space to host than what was currently available. Hence the cleanup.
‘Sorry, it’s just hard to avoid.’ Clear Clutter replied, getting her head back down to carry on with her work.
‘Well, if it was easy we wouldn’t have been at this for several hours already. I dread to think how long this room has been left untouched.’ Dusty said. ‘I’ve worked here for over twenty years and still I don’t know all the ins and outs of this place.’ he finished. Lord Tenebrous’s castle was rather large. Not on the grand scale of Canterlot Castle of course, but plenty big in its own right. Extremely old, but a small team of ponies like Dusty and Clear kept it in good order. Guards, chefs, bureaucrats, maids, butlers and ponies of other professions all were in Lord Tenebrous’s employ. Gloomhaven, the county in which the castle was located, primarily had an industry of mining for metals and gems, as well as some forestry. A wet climate with lots of cloud cover, the terrain consisted mostly of mountains with some small flat areas used for farming - it had earned the name it bore. Ponies like Dusty were quite happy to be in the work they did, given the alternatives.
Returning his thoughts to the task at hoof, cleaning up the room was going fine. It needed some fittings and fixtures sure, but otherwise it would make a good guest room. He watched as a couple of the other cleaners moved aside a large sideboard which was somewhat out of place. It had been positioned in a corner rather oddly for the shape of the furniture. The two ponies moving it didn’t get far, only shifting the thing a few feet to the side before they put it down again. Dusty was about to ask them why they had stopped, but then he saw why.
The odd placing of the furniture quickly had become apparent. They pulled off a dust covering, causing a few ponies to cough and once again sneeze, but underneath was something quite remarkable. Behind where it sat was a chest. Not a standard trunk style chest you might see used for travelling either, but an extremely ornate one. It had a thin layer of dust, which was easily wiped away by hooves. Dusty could see that whoever had made this chest was an expert in metalwork, with much of the tarnished silver structure of the thing having decorative spirals leading off from the main body. Some even had gems inset towards the end of where the spirals came to an end. It also of course had wood for the main container portion, stained almost black. He couldn’t tell what sort of wood had been used to make it, but it was obviously very old like the rest of the chest. It was quite the piece of craftsponyship. But why was it here? Stuffed away behind an old sideboard of all things. He wondered if it had been hidden on purpose, perhaps long ago by some long gone pony to ensure their valuables were kept secure. He and the other ponies continued to look over it for a few moments silently. He gave it a prod with its hoof, extremely heavy. They’d have to use magic to move it.
‘I think you had better fetch Prim.’ Dusty said, still looking at the crate, but speaking to Clear. ‘They…may even need to bring The Count.’
‘Both of them? Are you sure?’ Clear asked.
‘If it was unimportant I wouldn’t. Look.’ Dusty pointed a hoof at the crate, towards the middle where you would have opened it up. A lock as ornate as the chest itself had kept it shut tight clearly for years. There was an extremely faint glow around it. ‘Magical lock.’ Dusty said. ‘I suspect it's kept shut for a reason, they’d want to know.’
‘Back shortly.’ was all Clear said, galloping off quite quickly. Dusty and the rest of the cleaners all stopped work to just…stare. The chest was a thing of beauty. The castle itself of course had plenty of old and expensive furniture, but this was something else.
‘Sir, you’re required in one of the storage rooms.’ Prim Proper had appeared by the side of Tenebrous Grimoire. Magically, he picked up the small cup that Tenebrous had not long ago been drinking from, wiping the side with a small cloth.
‘Must I be required? What importance pulls me away from my fireplace and study?’ Tenebrous said to Prim. He was reading a book, quite interested in a spell it contained that would make flowers bloom in the winter.
‘One of the cleaners came and found me. They have discovered a chest apparently. It is magically sealed.’ Prim explained. They were concise and to the point, sparing no additional words that they didn’t have to. Over the many years of being Head Butler for Tenebrous, Prim had learned not to waste their time with unimportant embellishments.
‘Any clues as to what the chest is, or am I left to guess?’ Tenebrous asked, starting to get up. They placed the book down on a small table besides the chair they had occupied, starting to trot as they continued to speak to Prim. ‘Very well, show me the way.’
‘The word they used was “ornate” sir. They thought both of us should come along. You know the staff, they worry about magic when they don’t know what it is.’
Tenebrous sighed. ‘I have tried to teach them, but they still fret and worry. Are a portion of them not magic users themselves?’
‘Indeed.’ was all Prim said. It was all that needed to be said. ‘The room is not far, it is one being converted for the upcoming festivities.
The journey took around five minutes. Tenebrous would never admit it, but it was a part of the castle even they barely stuck their head around. About two corridors back and five doors ago they had lost their bearings. It was a good thing Prim was here to guide him along. When they arrived, the cleaner ponies were all gathered around the crate. Tenebrous coughed lightly to announce his presence. The Head Cleaner, Dusty Rag, jumped quite visibly - as if he hadn’t even heard them enter. Quite the impossibility, the floorboards creaked loud enough to wake an elephant from sleep.
‘A-Ah! Count Tenebrous.’ Dusty stuttered slightly. ‘Sorry to disturb you, but we thought it best to-.’ he would have kept speaking, but he was pushed aside by Tenebrous who advanced towards the chest, standing over it and casting a spell which wrapped its way around the lock and overtook the existing magic. Within a few seconds the lock popped open, flicking a thin layer of dust upwards as a reminder that it hadn’t moved in centuries.
‘A magical ward.’ Tenebrous said. ‘But very old, very weak. A foal could have broken it. You were right to be concerned however. The original spell was much stronger, somepony was quite keen to keep this chest shut when it was originally locked up.’ he explained. Tenebrous levitated the lock aside and then magically, opened the lid of the chest. Nothing sprang out, except more dust, despite the fears of the cleaners wondering if it contained either treasure or an ancient evil.
Inside was a singular item. An extremely thick tome, it had no cover and no markings. The outside was a dark black and was kept bound by a latch which ensured it stayed closed. Tenebrous levitated it out of the chest, taking a few looks over it before turning to Prim and the cleaners. ‘Mystery solved - not particularly vexing, a magical tome that appears quite inert. If you wouldn’t mind continuing to clean and finish fixing up the room, you can move the chest somewhere more suitable. It is not of any danger. The basement would be best.’ Tenebrous instructed, turning their attention to Prim entirely. ‘It is late, Prim - take the tome to my chambers and leave it by my bedside. I shall inspect it tomorrow when I am not tired and distracted by other matters.’ Tenebrous said, magically passing the tome over to Prim, who took it in their own aura of levitation. They began to walk out the room with Tenebrous, who they had to lead to a familiar part of the castle before the pair parted ways.
‘SsssnnNNNRRRkkkkk!’
As much as noble as anypony could be, snoring was not something one could stop at a whim. After a good meal and some more study, Tenebrous had made his way to bed and found the tome placed by his bedside as instructed. He decided not to touch it and simply left it there, it would be something to read in the morning when he woke up.
The master chambers he slept in were extremely big, having in the past been the sleeping chambers of many a noble. Tenebrous knew most of their names, but some had simply been lost to history. He was just the latest custodian in a long line which would carry on long after he was gone. The main feature of the room was a large bed towards the middle, with several huge windows covered by drapes off to the side. Around the walls were some bookshelves as well as a writing desk, then sundries like storage for clothes and other unimportant features.
As Tenebrous slept, he was not woken by moonlight starting to pour in through the large windows. The drapes had moved, unassisted by magic or hoof. Fully open, the rays from the full moon made their way down to the tome. After a few short moments, as the power of the rays came to fruition the latch on the book opened itself up, the tome itself fluttering open silently with barely a whisper of noise. It moved slightly upwards, levitating above the bedside table as a small cloud of blue mana emerged upwards from the pages. It swirled in the air for a moment, before moving over the bed of Tenebrous and then darting downwards into the ponies open, snoring mouth.
‘SnnnhhRRhhmmkkk!’
The noise Tenebrous made was a mix of a snore, a snort and a stir, although he didn’t wake. His body however shifted, the Count clutched his stomach as the magic from the tome took hold of his body, Tenebrous completely unaware of it except for his peaceful dream turning to a nightmare he would not remember in the morning. A few seconds later, the remaining magic from the tome swirled down his mouth, like water going down a drain as clouds obscured the moonlight - the final drips of magic desperately rushing to the Count. The moonlight vanished, the drapes pulled themselves over and the tome snapped shut, returning to its resting place on the bedside table where Prim had left it. The Count would wake up in the morning and see it as it was when he had gone to bed, seemingly unmoved by the events that had just taken place.
Tenebrous continued to snore, the night drawing to a close as darkness was replaced by what little light Gloomhaven had to offer. It was going to be another wet and grey day.
-
Prim smiled. There was a certain satisfaction in correctly setting a table. It was only breakfast, but it still necessitated 3 separate sets of knives and forks, with spoons should the Count want any jams or jellies. He had been up before sunrise, having only a few moments ago drawn back the large curtains of the dining hall to reveal the morning sun starting to peek its way over the mountain range off to the east. It was for once, not raining - although the grey clouds starting to roll over the mountains told him that would probably change quite quickly.
The dining hall, like the rest of the castle, was very old. The size of it meant it got quite drafty and cold in the wetter months towards winter time, which they were now in. Prim made sure to keep the doorways and windows covered with curtains and other soft items that could be hung to ensure as much heat from the fire kept it warm as possible. Mornings however were fine, it was naturally warmer. One of the staff was still cleaning out the charred remains of logs from when it went out yesterday as Prim busied themselves with ensuring the usual breakfast was ready. A small selection of vegetables from the farms the Count oversaw, along with some eggs and other sundries. Generally Tenebrous did not want for much in the morning, saving themselves for a bigger meal later in the day. Dining for one at such a large mahogany table, meant to seat many more guests, meant Prim had to travel around the room a bit to put everything in the proper place. In a few moments, he expected the Count to enter the room. He had been meaning to ask the castle staff to fix a squeak in the large double doors to the room from the end Tenebrous entered, it was becoming bothersome.
SLLLAAAAMMMM!
Well. That solved the squeaking problem at least.
Prim jerked their head towards the doors, having heard them slam open and bounce off the walls next to them. Tenebrous entered the room in a manner that Prim had never seen before, he was practically galloping towards the table to his usual set place. It was extremely unusual to see him so…agitated? Unknown to Prim, Tenebrous’s stomach roared with the hunger of a hundred ponies. The magic from the night before had completely taken hold. All it did was scream at the Count one important instruction: Eat.
Prim watched as Tenebrous, without even greeting his Head Butler, hastily shoved himself into his usual seat and ignored the place settings. He brought his hooves up to the table and began to shovel the food into his mouth at a rate that Prim had never quite seen in his life, not even from starving peasantry who hadn’t eaten in days. Prim hadn’t noticed but Chef White Truffle had appeared at his side, watching the display with fascination. It was her who the silence.
‘Is he?...’
‘Yes.’
‘Should I?’
‘I think you had better.’ Prim said, standing still as White Truffle trotted over to Tenebrous. He had polished off the entire plate in around fifteen seconds. It usually took him at least fifteen minutes to work his way elegantly around the plate to swallow everything. Elegance this morning had been thrown out the window, it seemed.
‘Is everything alright, Count?’ White Truffle asked. Tenebrous simply sat there, opening his mouth to speak now that the food had slipped down his throat.
‘More I say! Bring me another plate swiftly! Enough to feed a family of six!’ the raised voice was rather unusual as well, the Count only ever brought his tone to bear if it was required. Prim did not judge a lack of food to be one of these times. He watched the Head Chef simply nod her head and scamper back to the kitchen as fast as her hooves would take her. He noticed another thing, as soon as White Truffle was gone, Tenebrous clutched his stomach - it grumbled as if it had not been fed, but Prim had witnessed the Count eat all the food. He banged a hoof on the table, as if in pain. Prim wondered if he should advance to ask if the Count needed anything, but he had already made his demands rather clear. He wanted more food.
In short order, White Truffle reappeared along with two of the castle’s butlers. This time, the food was on larger plates with bigger portions. It was all still breakfast food of course, appropriate for the time of day. It was set on the large table around Tenebrous rather quickly. The small amount that was brought out wasn’t nearly enough as had been demanded. As soon as it was placed down, White Truffle headed back to the kitchen to work on the next plates, with the butlers beginning to move in tandem to keep up with the demand that Tenebrous had created. Prim could only really stand and watch as all this unfolded before his eyes. His usual duties weren’t required here. He only ensured the Count didn’t want any liquid. Based on his behaviour this morning, he was sure it would be demanded if he wanted it.
A small marathon began to unfold, as Tenebrous greedily consumed plate after plate of food that was brought his way. As soon as he finished one, he went searching for another. The butlers were hauling away the messy dishes as fast as they could before bringing out a clean one with additional food. There were a few times that the Count didn’t have a plate of food, in which he angrily demanded that the food be brought faster. Prim was reasonably sure the butlers hadn’t included the thought of a workout during breakfast service in their plans this morning.
Despite the somewhat healthy nature of all the food, Tenebrous was eating far more of it than he usually did. Eat enough of something, even something good for you and it’ll start to pack on the pounds. After about ten minutes of this seemingly unending marathon of breakfasts, Prim noted that the chair Tenebrous was sitting in was either shrinking, or his employer was getting quite a lot bigger. His normally trimmed flanks were now pressing into the arms at the side of the furniture and his previously well fitted waistcoat was starting to show signs that the buttons were perhaps just a bit too tight on his ballooning figure. There was a shrip!, which Prim only picked up on over the noise of the gorging Tenebrous as he was paying more attention now to the Count’s clothing, which was shrinking with every mouthful he took of food. The noise had emanated from his waistcoat, which looked about at breaking point.
The chair that Tenebrous occupied, like the rest of the furniture, was very old - although kept in good order. It matched the table, made of mahogany wood. Prim didn’t want to guess at the age. Most likely a few hundred years old at least, if not much more. It had survived castle invasions, hundreds of events and even being moved around the place more times than Prim had likely had hot meals. The problem was however, it was not built to handle a pony of Tenebrous’s figure, even with the sometimes more portly nobles that would sit in.
Cruunncchhhhhh!
The mahogany began to fail, first the two arms either side of the Count ripped themselves free of the main structure. Tenebrous however seemed completely unphased, he simply picked up another plate of food and tipped it upwards towards his open mouth, letting the food slide in and down his throat. With no arms to hold back his wobbling stomach and quaking rear that was now sagging quite heavily over the side of the seat, Prim could only watch as what he could see of the legs buckled under the weight of Tenebrous.
Snap! Whump!
The chair's superstructure gave up trying to support the ever increasing weight of the Count. Tenebrous dropped several feet to the floor, his now massive rear cushioning his fall as well as forcing the splintered remains of the chair out away from under him. The sudden movement did not seem to deter Tenebrous at all from eating, with the stallion pulling more plates towards him in an effort to shove more down his throat as fast as possible.
The size of him was…incredible, at least to Prim. He had observed nobles who enjoyed their food before. Nopony at an event, especially those in service to them would say a word. It would be rude and completely out of place, of course that didn’t mean they didn’t have thoughts about it. Prim recalled one mare who had come along to one of Tenebrous’s many events at the invite of her partner. To say she was obese might have been putting it lightly. Prim was sure she had cleaned out most of the Hors d'oeuvre’s that evening herself. It had been the talk of the night among the staff.
What the Count however was doing right now made that pale in comparison. Without historical records, Prim couldn’t say if such a display had ever been witnessed in the castle before. Prim was hovering between stepping in and saying something to just watching this all unfold in total fascination. Tenebrous however did not call for him, only to demand more food which the butlers were bringing out as best they could. The Count was increasing in size rapidly. With the chair now smashed to pieces, his body only seemed to expand at an increasing rate, his belly pressed out beyond the width of the table and his flanks bulged upwards, the tail of Tenebrous starting to become lost between the ever growing blubber cheeks that seemed to be searching for space in which to fill. His clothes became even more shredded than they already were, although Tenebrous seemed completely unphased by this. He just grabbed at another plate, the contents vanishing in seconds as his bulging cheeks popped out for a few moments completely full of food, then seemed to regress as it was all swallowed up. Prim looked at the size of Tenebrous and then the size of the doors around the room. Much more of this and he’d likely struggle to get out, should he put on much more weight. He hoped soon there would be some sign of stopping this, but another plate appeared from the kitchen and was almost instantly consumed. Greedily, the Count waved a now somewhat fattened hoof, indicating to the staff that they should try to speed up and bring things to the table much faster. Prim was about to leave and ask some other staff in the castle to come and help, the butlers looked as if they had been run absolutely ragged - but decided against it. As he watched Tenebrous consume another plate, he saw the count bang on his chest with his hoof a few times, as if something were lodged in his throat. He then paused from eating, only to let his now increasingly wobbling stomach release a large belch that echoed around the room. The large glass chandelier that hung in the middle of the room above the table rattled, but did not fall.
‘BbbbbWWWWwwwwAAARRRRPPPPPPPPP!’
Prim tutted, it was…not something he had heard the Count do before. He didn’t feel it was in his remit to tell him off like a child, but certainly worth a reaction. Prim watched what the Count would do next. He did not reach for another plate, he simply sat, looking at the small pile of messy remains of meals in front of him that the butlers hadn’t taken away. He blinked a couple of times, then turned to look at Prim, who trotted over to him.
‘I…do not require anymore food. Butlers, your duty is finished. Clear this mess away and take the rest of the morning off to recuperate. I apologise.’ Tenebrous said. ‘I must be honest, I don’t quite know what came over me.’ he stopped speaking again, seemingly looking over himself - quite shocked. It seemed to Prim that what had just occurred had not entirely registered yet in the Count’s brain, but slowly the reality of the situation was starting to dawn on him.
Prim gave a hoof wave to indicate the butlers should do as Tenebrous said, they began cleaning up the table - still wheezing from the small relay they had to run to keep up with the Count’s demands for food. There was a crash which made Prim jump, the butlers had collapsed to the floor, seemingly so tired that they couldn’t even carry out their duties. He was reasonably sure that White Truffle in the kitchen had done the same. He shook his head, he’d get them on their hooves and moving momentarily.
Tenebrous himself looked almost completely different to when he had entered the room. His body had massively increased in size several times over. He seemingly struggled to get himself up from the floor and onto four hooves, what was left of his clothes in tatters and barely hanging onto his body. The waistcoat he wore was more decorative than actually functional now. The castle seamstress was going to have quite the time hunting down enough cloth to fix it all up in time for the upcoming event. Prim watched as Tenebrous tried to get used to his ballooned form, he stretched several tens of feet wide and his front and back hooves were pressed neatly against a stomach that had no way of lifting itself up from coming into contact with the floor, unless the Count was suddenly going to gain a few feet in height. His flanks were even wider and taller than his belly, they wobbled slightly as he tried his best to stand still and face Prim. Prim themselves were quite impressed that such food had added such bulk to Tenebrous. It was curious.
The butlers at this point were back on their hooves, they had done it without Prim’s intervention. ‘I…must convey my regret again. Something quite powerful came over me this morning. A complete lack of manners on my part. I have no explanation for such inexplicable hunger.’ Tenebrous said. He didn’t outright say it to Prim, they probably had an idea already, but Tenebrous was worried. There was clearly something wrong here. He had never felt such a roar in his stomach before and a need to eat. He decided he would retire after this to the castle study with some books from the library to research this and see if anything had been cast upon him, a hex or suchlike was usually what caused this sort of behaviour. As he decided upon this, his stomach let out another loud gurgle, making Tenebrous raise his eyebrows in concern. White Truffle had emerged from the kitchen, starting to help the butlers clean up the mess so they weren’t doing it alone. ‘Prim, please instruct several of the servant quarters chefs to assist White Truffle. I don’t know if this fever like state will take hold again - it would be unwise if we were not prepared.’
‘Of course, Count.’
Tenebrous left the room, squeezing his way out of the double doors towards the library and study. Prim carried out his instructions, deeply concerned.
-
Prim looked out the windows of the castle, he was currently on the upper floors inspecting the finished conversions of the guest quarters. The odd small item was out of place here and there but overall the staff had done a very good job. He would commend them later. It was nearly another full moon, the light of it was always rather eye-catching. Prim gave the current room one final check, he had to meet with the Count shortly, a guest of theirs was soon to arrive.
It had been a month since what Prim liked to call “The Event” where Tenebrous had gorged himself to a humongous size. Prim and the rest of the staff couldn’t really shake it from their minds. Word had travelled quickly around the castle and to the surrounding area of Gloomhaven. A small community gossiped quite possibly worse than those in a big city. News of interest was few and far between. The castle staff who saw Tenebrous daily obviously were the first to know. They told others, family members. It spread quite quickly.
Since then, the Count had not lost any weight whatsoever, despite his best attempts initially to do so. As Prim made their way back down the stairs and towards where they were supposed to meet he pondered the different methods that Tenebrous had sought to employ to fix this problem of his. The library and study had proved not to be very fruitful, unfortunately. Due to the small entryway as well, Tenebrous needed a member of staff on hoof at all times to actually be able to get into the room and fetch whatever book he asked for, his memory however of the copious volumes of tomes wasn’t completely up to par and often the staff spent more time searching for what he wanted rather than him actually doing research. The plan had been abandoned rather quickly.
He had eventually turned his attention to the tome which was still in his bedchambers, but this too had proved somewhat useless. It was locked shut and even the most powerful spell Tenebrous was able to muster that worked on most locks to open them barely moved the mechanism. With the lack of access to the library, progress was extremely slow. He was no closer to reversing the effects of the curse than he had been a month ago when it had taken hold, Tenebrous was sure something from the book had caused this, but he had no idea what.
Thankfully, his growth had slowed down considerably since the first day. The curse seemed to have “settled” as long as Tenebrous kept himself fed. That was the only real peculiarity, his hunger and need to eat still remained as it did on that first day of uncontrollable gorging. He had done his best to adjust, as had the staff. Meals were slightly more frequent and the staff had gotten into a rhythm of service that didn’t have them exhausted after the end of every meal. The castle had been rearranged somewhat, with furniture and anything else Tenebrous might bump into or damage removed from corridors and things moved to rooms he had access to. It would require some time to make all the required alterations to doors to allow him to get into places he was now far too big to enter. The second floor had become completely out of bounds.
The castle had one very old, well maintained, but old, service elevator for taking heavy items of furniture up and down on should it need to be moved between floors. It was near his laboratory, with a few steps leading up to the platform which when it came to a rest dangled above the floor. Tenebrous had tried, but his immense weight had caused the stairs to fold under the immensity of his body. The elevator itself, for the one time he had managed to board, held up for a few seconds before the ropes simply stretched and snapped - they did not have the strength needed to hold up several tons of hefty stallion. Prim had suggested replacing the rope with chains, but Tenebrous had dismissed the idea. Too expensive, he would solve the issue eventually anyhow, negating the need for it. He simply ordered the ropes replaced.
With all these setbacks, a cure had barely even been started upon. Getting any proper work done was suddenly quite the chore with all the obstacles that Tenebrous had to overcome, alongside the tasks nobility had to undertake day to day. Some of it was delegatable, but important matters still required his attention. The chest that contained the tome that had caused all this had very obviously been hidden away for a good reason. Prim wondered if the same fate had befallen a prior noble hundreds of years ago. He would have to check the historical archives.
Prim passed the temporary sleeping quarters that the Count was currently using to rest in. His main bed chambers, despite the large double doors, were not accessible at his size. They had done their best to make him comfortable. The large room, formally a secondary banquet hall should there be too many guests for the first to accommodate, now contained a very large bed that had been hastily put together by the castle’s carpenters. It comprised six of the largest mattresses available, pushed together to form the large “bed” so to speak. After supporting the weight of Tenebrous for the past month, they were already starting to look tired and worn out. Prim eventually found Tenebrous as they had agreed, just outside the main dining hall, having spent a few hours sleeping off a meal. His clothes fit better, the tailors having done what they could to give the Count some amount of coverage, although his belly still ballooned out to the sides, with his massive flanks barely covered.
‘Good evening, Count.’
‘Good evening, Prim. Shall we?’
One of Prim’s main duties these days was escorting the Count down the corridors he could actually fit down to get to where he needed to go. Not all of them were accessible at his size. They were also joined by a few other butlers. Despite Prim’s best efforts, the Count still had to squeeze his way through a few of the narrower entryways and door frames of which he could just about get through with enough help. Some lubrication helped, but mostly a lot of pushing of hooves and gentle shoving got him through just fine. The Count waddled slowly, giving them all plenty of time to ensure they were well positioned to help. Furniture was also an issue, occasionally with the alterations to the castle, things were left in corridors either by accident or on purpose. Prim and the other butlers would move it out the way, Tenebrous’s size meant that on occasion, he was unable to judge whether he was crushing something underneath him or not. It was often when the crunch of wood was heard they realised, far too late. A small selection of irreplaceable antique ornaments and furniture had vanished under the Count’s hefty rear and belly. Thankfully, all this was confined to the first floor only, since the elevator incident Tenebrous had given up trying to access the upper floors.
Today however, Tenebrous was to meet his youngest brother - Umbral Dreadhorn. He still lived in the castle, but often kept themselves locked away. He knew of course what had happened to Tenebrous and had quickly set about working on a solution of his own. The young unicorn was quite talented in the mysteries of the arcane, magic that was often difficult to master - but he had quite an impressive skill of wielding it. Since the event, Tenebrous had barely seen him, he assumed Umbral had been busy working away on a cure where Tenebrous had failed to do so themselves.
The small consort entered one of the other large castle rooms, where they were due to meet Umbral.
‘Brother! I have great news!’ came a voice from behind, it seemed Umbral had been following from behind Tenebrous, Prim was unsurprised. The massive Count would have completely blocked the tiny stallion from being noticed. He squeezed his way around the heaving body of Tenebrous, having to brush past his wobbling rear as he did so.
‘Clearly of great importance, I don’t think I’ve ever felt you get quite so near to me.’ Tenebrous commented slyly, it seemed to go unheard by Umbral.
‘I decided to take a trip out, the castle of course has volumes of reading materials to attempt to help you, but we don’t have everything.’ Umbrella began to explain.
‘So where did you betake yourself?’
‘Somberheart, not far. They have a library as well, I’m sure you know.’
‘I am quite aware. It is in my domain.’ Tenebrous replied gruffly. He didn’t appreciate the young Umbral assuming he wasn’t aware of things in Gloomhaven.
‘Yes, well I managed to do some proper research. They have a number of old historical books and records, it was all very interesting. I need to-’ Umbral stopped talking, he was cut off by Tenebrous holding a hoof up, to indicate he should stop speaking.
‘Take a moment of pause, Umbral, save your findings - we can discuss it over lunch. I intend to have quite a substantial one, I can give you the proper attention you deserve there.’ Tenebrous demanded, starting to turn himself to make his way back from where he had come. Prim felt quite sorry for Umbral, he was about to share his big reveal and he had been stopped in his tracks. The unicorn looked quite deflated, the impact of the information wouldn’t be anywhere near as impressive - now that he had to pause to allow his older brother to waddle his way back towards the dining hall for food.
Umbral decided to follow behind, making sure what he was going to say would get through to Tenebrous as he ate.
-
The pair sat across from one another at the large dining table. Tenebrous was quite surrounded with many plates of food, while Umbral simply had one which would have been a normal meal for any pony. He had barely touched his, while Tenebrous was already munching his way through plate number eight. The mess was still quite unbecoming of a stallion of the Count’s importance. The butlers worked hard to keep the area as clean as possible, but bits of food hitting the table due to the speed at which Tenebrous was eating was quite impossible to avoid. He paused for a moment to look at Umbral, before taking another large bite of his meal.
‘I’m listening.’
‘Very well. As I had begun to explain, I found a number of historical records in the Somberheart library. Extremely old. I only know because of the layers of dust when I pulled them off the shelves. That and well, they were dated. Five hundred years, I was amazed that the things were still intact.’ Umbral said.’They spoke of a cult, a very powerful one who were important in the region of Gloomhaven. They have long since been lost to history, but they are the cause of…this.’ Umbral said, waiving a hoof in the general direction of Tenebrous to emphasise his point. ‘There is both good and bad news.’
At this point Tenebrous actually stopped eating, allowing the butlers to do a bit of cleaning of the food particles that littered the table. ‘Continue.’
‘What has happened to you is indeed a curse. The book noted it quite distinctly. It is counteracted rather easily. It only needs a small ritual completing with the use of a few magical herbs.’ Umbral explained.
‘I’d say that’s news to be pleased with.’ Tenebrous said, going back to his meal.
‘Yes…the bad news is the herbs needed are not found in the immediate area. They are around half a week’s travel from the castle. There were also more details of the curse. It is a full moon tomorrow night, it must have also been one the night you were first…afflicted. The book detailed that is when the curse is at its most strongest. Unless the pony under its spell is cured before the next full moon, it will become more volatile. The book I read detailed a case in particular, the pony becomes even more gluttonous - you will be lost to it, either until you are satiated by what you eat or you pass out from a food coma.’
Tenebrous sat silently. It was a manner in which Prim knew he was not pleased by this news. The Count knew there was no way to get the herbs in time, half a week's travel he knew Umbral would have meant by flight - the fastest way. He paused his eating again to speak. ‘So in essence, I can be cured - but I’m going to be triple the size I am now, or greater?’ he said quite calmly.
‘Well, I don’t know about triple…’ Umbral said, they decided to stop themselves before they mentioned even greater sizes. ‘Brother, I doubt you would have found this answer any sooner if you had been left to look for it yourself.’
‘You are right, of course.’ Tenebrous huffed. Of course Umbral was right, he himself had made no progress. This was the only thing that could help, but it was going to come at a price tomorrow night when the full moon shone through. He continued to eat, his loud chews beating out the silence as he sat in contemplative thought. ‘Thank you for your efforts Umbral, without you I would be in even more of a predicament than I am already.’ he finally said, seeming to relax somewhat. Umbral smiled, his hard work rewarded.
‘I do what I can to help.’ he simply said, getting up from the table to leave. Umbral had long since finished his food and it looked like Tenebrous would be here for quite a while longer. The butlers were still bringing out plates from the kitchen. Tenebrous asked the first to drop the plate and wait, so all of them were in the hall together.
‘All of you, I will need you tomorrow at your best performance. Please instruct the kitchen they will need to put together many more meals then what has become normal, they can recruit whoever they need from the staff to assist.’ Tenebrous simply said. The butlers nodded, leaving to give chef White Truffle the news. Umbral made his pleasant excuses and started to leave the room, only stopped by quite an audible crash from the kitchen as a pan was dropped - probably in frustration. He shook his head and left Tenebrous to the rest of his meal with Prim still at his side. The door shut behind Umbral, as it closed, an exceptionally loud belch was audible through the now closed doors, to the command of more food to be brought with haste.
-
‘H-Huff…’
The sun was starting to go down. As much preparation based on Umbral’s news had been done by the kitchen staff and others in the castle. A flight of bat ponies had been dispatched as soon as they could by Prim last night. They had of course not yet returned with the promised herbs. It was a vague hope they would be back in time, seemingly Umbral was not incorrect about the distance they’d have to travel.
The dining room would be quite insufficient to keep the Count fed at pace, although close to the kitchen - the courtyard had a much more easily accessible entrance to and fro for the staff. It was also an ideal place to pre-prepare and get as close to Tenebrous as much food as possible, owing to the vast amount of space. Luckily, it was not a wet day - but the food was kept under tents and coverings just in case. It also meant whatever size he grew to, Tenebrous was unlikely to fill or need much more space than this. At least, that was the thinking.
‘Is he alright?’ one of the staff asked Prim, who was overseeing proceedings.
‘Far from alright.’ Prim answered.
‘Why is he wheezing so much?’
‘You would be wheezing too if you were the size of a small catapult, the Count has a lot of…himself to move around.’
‘I suppose.’ the staff member said, moving back to their duties. All of them were quite concerned. The wheezing was new, it had only come on in the late afternoon. It was why Prim had suggested before he became too tired, Tenebrous moved himself out here in preparation for the full moon.
The thing about this meal was that it was not going to be fine dining. The Count was often used to the best and although the past month had demanded a higher quantity of what he usually ate, the castle staff had managed to keep up with the usual high standards of meals. Stores however were running low, Prim wasn’t actually sure how much longer they could have kept serving such high end foods.
What the castle did have a lot of, was food for its staff. It was also what most of them knew how to prepare. Therefore, the courtyard was filled with more common foods. Barrels of oats, huge great pots of stews that bubbled over fires to keep it warm, vegetables by the ton. Each was being tended to by a staff member, in wait of what was to come.
Tenebrous himself had positioned himself towards the middle, for maximum space around him. He hoped that when the full moon emerged, the tome would unlatch and he could read the words inside. He suspected this was the only way he’d actually be able to see anything within and only had a short period to do it. It was not guaranteed, of course - but the Count had a sneaking suspicion it may help. If the curse weakened, he’d strike.
GGRGGRRRRUUUUUURRGGGGLLLLEEEEE!
An almost deafeningly loud gurgle pierced the air, the sun had set and the moon was up. Tenebrous’s stomach seemed to have made it clear to everypony in the courtyard that what had been predicted by Umbral was starting to happen. The staff began to prepare themselves to deliver as much food as possible to the insatiable Count - but there was no need. The tome opened, a magical blue portion of mana once more made its way to Tenebrous. This time visible to all to observe. Prim noticed the Count tried to read from the pages, but quickly stopped as the tome dropped to the floor and the magic continued to flow into Tenebrous. Prim dared not approach, in case he was afflicted as well.
Tenebrous’s horn glowed, in a way that Prim had never seen before. Clearly it was assisted by the curse - strong magic that seemed to wrap its way around the foodstuffs nearby. There was another gigantic groan from Tenebrous’s gut - clearly his assumptions about the curse were wrong. It was now giving him more power, all concentrated on getting whatever he could find to stuff his face to satiate himself. The food moved towards his waiting open maw, with it quickly becoming a bottleneck between the food in the courtyard being where it was and making its way to his stomach. The servants, who had been told to expect to need to bring as much food as quickly as possible, wisely backed up. Some were fascinated and watched from behind cover, others were quite scared - exiting the courtyard as the Count gorged with a ferocity more powerful than the first night he had been afflicted.
His body groaned and heaved under the weight of the food he was packing in as quickly as possible. There was no thought that occupied his brain for proper manners, the curse had completely overwhelmed him with thoughts only of more food…more food…more food!
He could barely chew; he had pushed so much food into his jaw, pressed as wide as it could possibly go as the magic assisted in making what he had slip down his throat and into his wobbling gut. The Count’s body had barely stopped moving since he had started, fat piled upon fat as the sheer volume of food combined with the gluttony from the curse packed on the pounds at an astonishing rate. It was hard to tell where one meal might have begun and another ended, it all seemed to the staff who had stayed to watch this display that one blended into another almost seamlessly - Tenebrous barely stopping for a breath as he wolfed down another barrel of oats, or drank an entire pot of stew, magically tipping the thing up and emptying it in mere moments.
His body shifted, bigger in size with every morsel of food that he consumed. The Count for the past month had been absolutely huge, there was no denying it, but now he was becoming mammoth in size. His stomach, taking the brunt of the stuffing, ballooned beneath him even more. Where he had once had some mobility, this was quickly lost as gigantic rolls of blubber formed a soft bed beneath him. His front legs were quickly lifted from the floor, becoming embedded in his impossibly large belly that wobbled and quaked as it filled the courtyard. His rear legs did the same, lifted by fat that formed huge, hefty circles of bloated blubber which completely removed any sort of mobility the Count might have had. Tenebrous now cared not for movement, the only movement that was crossing his thoughts was of food from around the courtyard to his face.
His flanks finally touched ground on the stone floor, unlikely to be able to lift up from it again under his own power, the massive boulders of buns jiggled furiously as Tenebrous ate with the ferocity of a pony who hadn’t eaten in months. Within a few mere minutes, they were quickly rising above his head from behind, as cellulite spread through his entire frame with speed.
Clothing, at least, what little there was of it, didn’t stand a chance. If he had worn pants, they would have been utterly destroyed by expanding cheeks that ripped them in twain, the material vanishing under Tenebrous as he expanded on top of it. No servants dared to try to retrieve it, they might not have been able to do so in time before they too may have been crushed under all of his lard.
It seemed the enhanced magic, powerful as it was still wasn’t enough for the Count, as Prim observed his increasingly flabby arms moving, hooves trying to grab at food to guide it towards his open mouth. At first this was quite frenzied, but as they got heavier and heavier with more and more fat, Tenebrous struggled to use them to assist him in his feed. Eventually, he brought them to rest on his bulging belly, several rolls as thick as hay bales around the hooves which wiggled uselessly at the end.
Prim was still watching all of this unfold before his eyes. Had this not been the effects of magic, the Head Butler would not have believed a pony could become like this. The sheer size of Tenebrous seemed almost unbelievable, especially how his body was coping with all the extra fat that rippled continuously as he stuffed himself with as much food as the magic could greedily grab from around him. He wondered if he should try to help in some way, to see if he could snap the Count out of it, but the spell looked to be very powerful. The Count was well versed in magic, but he knew very well what he was capable of. Levitation of all the food as he was doing now was something Prim would not have expected him to be able to do. The odd thing here and there sure, but not multiple stew pots and barrels that he was greedily and somewhat haphazardly trying to consume the contents of. He feared that should he try to intervene, the same magic would be used against him. For now it was best to just observe and ensure that nothing greatly affected Tenebrous. Prim was quite aware it would be his head first on the chopping block should this ordeal end in disaster.
He watched another pot of stew get lifted and tipped up, the mixture inside bulging Tenebrous’s cheeks out as the Count greedily sucked down the liquid inside. Within about thirty seconds, the entire contents had been emptied out and the pot was cast aside, it clattered to the floor and rolled off - stopped by a few of the other butlers. Already, Tenebrous was at another one, with a barrel full of oats magically floating nearby ready for when this one was finished as well. Prim was sure he could observe the count expanding and getting bigger to a degree, a blink and another few centimetres seemed to be added to his size as his body pressed outwards further and further into the courtyard. Prim actually started to worry they may run out of space, should this keep up. He looked around at the other staff, who seemed as lost as he was. All they could realistically do was ensure this continued as it was until the curse was broken.
Tenebrous now sported a belly as big as a room, flanks that could be used to crush entire houses. His fattened head nestled neatly into a neck that looked as if it could swallow his own head at any second. All of this was completely unconventional, Prim had no idea what to expect but in his eyes, the vastness of the Count was actually a rather conventional shape. His body still retained the key features of a pony, just massively enlarged. There was no telling of course what would happen should one decide to indulge to this degree without the help of the curse, although Prim did wonder. In one way it was quite fascinating, in another…quite horrifying. Surely this couldn’t go on forever? It had been a problem for the last month just safely having Tenebrous get about the castle, now it seemed if he was going to remain this way until Umbral’s cure was ready, they’d have to be trying to get around him.
-
The curse dissipated. Having risen upwards to dispense its magic, the tome dropped onto Tenebrous, still open.
‘BBBBBWWWWWwwwwAAaaaaAAAAAuuUUUUuuuuRRRRRPPPppppPPPPP!’
The belch was incredible, practically sending a shockwave of sound around the courtyard. Prim watched bits of food go flying as Tenebrous let loose the biggest, loudest burp he had ever heard in his life. The Head Butler covered his ears due to the noise, several other staff members did the same thing.
There was nothing left. All the stew pots were empty, the oat barrels completely devoid of any contents. Tenebrous’s body was still jiggling, but his face had an expression of stoicism, he appeared to have snapped out of the curse's grasp as he had on the first night after gorging himself. Prim didn’t know what to say, the staff didn’t seem to know either - the ones that still remained were still hiding or their eyes were firmly wide open from having watched the spectacle of their Count having ballooned up to an immobile blob before their very eyes. The sound of frenzied eating, then the belch, had filled the air. Now it was seemingly rather silent. An owl hooted in the distance.
Tenebrous’s expression then changed to that of annoyance. Before a month ago, he had been a relatively slim pony, not too slim - that would not be befitting of a noble, but he had elegance and grace. The change had been unsettling but he had gotten used to it, sure he could be back to his old self in no time at all. He had begrudgingly accepted it as only a temporary thing. The news that this curse would only get worse yesterday had doured his spirits considerably, but he still didn’t quite believe it all. Now that the curse had worn off once again and Tenebrous was able to take in exactly what had happened to him, he knew he was unlikely to ever return to that thought of a slim pony once again. He tried to move his rear legs, completely unsuccessfully - his front hooves were no better, slightly less embedded in blubber but still quite the chore to even shift around. He was for lack of a better phrase, a morbidly obese whale. His body now filled most of the courtyard, save for some space around the edge where he could see some of his staff still cowering. Prim was of course nearby, about as close as the Head Butler looked as though he could get before he would have to start to clamber across the hefty fat folds that now filled the space. He watched as he and a number of the servants trotted around him, seemingly observing the damage from the gorging session he had just finished. In front of him, he saw the main castle gate start to rise. It had been closed to stop anypony from entering during the affliction of the curse. It seemed the commotion had gotten the attention of his guards who had been stationed outside the castle. When the troop entered, they stopped to talk to Prim.
‘We heard a lot of commotion.’ the Guard Captain said, looking over at Tenebrous. ‘We thought perhaps a Hydra, or maybe even a Dragon…’ he stopped talking. Prim was giving him a look that said he probably shouldn’t continue down this route of discussion. A few of the guards, much like the staff, were completely unable to take their eyes off the gigantic figure of Tenebrous, who wobbled still. He gave them a look back, to which they turned away. He could see ponies were starting to talk, Prim was still talking to the Guard Captain. Tenebrous decided he needed to make his voice heard. He was, after all, their leader. With a huge amount of effort, he waved a flabby hoof, the slapping of blubber causing all of them to stop talking and pay attention to him.
The tome was still open, wedged between fat rolls under Tenebrous’s enormous neck. The moon was still out and it seemed that with the continued shine of the moonlight, although greatly reduced, the tome was seeping excess magic. A light waft of blue mana was visible above the pages - what was different though was they were now readable, the tome not being locked the pages now revealed words that were previously hidden. Eager to find out exactly what had caused all of this, Tenebrous excitedly looked down, craning his neck as much as he could and starting to read the pages and grabbing a quill and notebook to copy the information down. Prim, the staff and the guards all moved closer, interested to know as well what secrets the book contained. Tenebrous was sure he would find old rituals, exciting ancient magic, powerful things that must make all of this possible in such an ornate and well hidden tome.
Reality, however, is often disappointing.
Each page contained a recipe for food. It was in essence, a cookbook. Each of the foodstuffs described on the pages were intended to be eaten by ponies suffering from the curse that Tenebrous had been brought under when it had been left with him overnight in his chambers. Aside from that, there was information on how to help pamper and care for ponies who had grown as large as him. The rest of the book contained nothing else of note. The curse must have been baked magically into the pages somehow, was all he could assume. It was hardly worth copying, Tenebrous huffed in dismay and put the quill and notebook down magically.
As he read, and likely to ask what he had discovered, a bat pony maid who Tenebrous was not entirely familiar with approached the great Count.
‘Count, can I assist you with anything?’ she asked.
‘No.’ Tenebrous said, shutting the book and looking around at his staff. ‘Leave me to rest, please. Prim, I will converse with you in the morning. Bring some sheets and bedding, I just want to be comfortable.’ he passed the unlocked tome over. ‘Page two hundred and fourteen. You’ll find what it recommends in the castle.’
‘Very well, Count.’ was all Prim said. It was not his place to question, only to do what was asked of him. He motioned to a few other members of staff. The ponies in the courtyard filed out, leaving the Count that now resembled a whale to his thoughts. They were not pleasant ones.
