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UnCO3
Feb 11, 2010

Ye gods!

College Slice
Arrow-shield


Recognition sparks
Off that gleaming mail
And tinderpoint spear.

Your intervention
Saved your companion
From the headman's blade.

How could I forget the face of my saviour? That should never have happened. This shouldn't be happening. They look just how they did the day they dragged me out from under the Blood Standard's blade, out from under that numbingly cold stare. That was the beginning of the end.

This life debt unpaid
Your kindness cursed you
To life worse than death.

...

Rusted Shirt lies there
Inert and unharmed
Onward, to Headless.

-

Whom did you once love?
Arrow-shield loves all the other skeletons.
Who here among the skeletons did you once feel fierce loyalty toward, and why?
Rusted Shirt, because they saved me from the headman's block.

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Fathis Munk
Feb 23, 2013

??? ?
Headless


As the charade becomes unbearable, I stumble forward out of myself. I turn towards the specter, though I do not need to face it to see it. In fact I don't need to see it at all, I know every angle, every crease of this face, this perfect face, my perfect face before it was taken from me.

A face crafted by the gods in their infinite mercy, with their unfathomable care and craftsmanship. It was a gift from them and I thanked them by loving it. It was their boon and it was their favor and I wore it proudly.

Until it was taken from me through jealousy and violence. To think the world will never know of the blasphemy that occurred in this tomb the day Rusted Shirt split open my godly face!

But why is it here now, why is it taunting me, why is it so close and yet unattainable, why.
I twist back around and face the apparition, is it trying to tell me something?

What connection do you have to those you’ve just killed or driven away? What memory did they evoke?
I was part of the first wave of sacrifices, at the time it was a great honor for us.
Whom did you once love?
Headless loved themselves and the Gods. But mostly themselves

AJ_Impy
Jun 17, 2007

SWORD OF SMATTAS. CAN YOU NOT HEAR A WORLD CRY OUT FOR JUSTICE? WHEN WILL YOU DELIVER IT?
Yam Slacker
Tattered Cloak

Memory gives way to reality. Your tyrant king, your master, your would-be victim of betrayal, is long dead, so too is Segart of the Blood Standard, Champion, Hero, Legend, Traitor. The tomb fades in around you, your blade still embedded in your chest, your spectre nowhere to be seen, save for perhaps a ghostly flicker around your weapon, the echo of a memory of past glories.

How do you react? What do you do now?

Headless

Oh, that noble brow, that proud, bold countenance! So handsome and perfect, unblemished and strong! Your worship and adoration seems to strengthen it, to draw it closer to reality and corporeality, and it seems to recognise you, seems to be about to speak, impart its boundless wisdom...

Then Arrow-shield walks right through it and it dissipates, gone perhaps forever, a memory of a memory.

How do you react? What do you do now?

Arrow-shield

The face of your saviour regards you with a wan, bittersweet fondness, and they raise a hand in farewell as you move on to check up on Headless. The decapitated skeleton is animate, standing there, but as you approach through a faint, soon-gone mist, it appears to be completely alone.

How do you react? What do you do now?

UnCO3
Feb 11, 2010

Ye gods!

College Slice
Arrow-shield


Ah! Safe from himself!
If I could still breathe
I'd sigh through my bones.

Thank their gods they're still here - I let my shield fall from my remaining hand and clasp Headless' shoulder instead.

"Don't obsess, my friend!
You're here, as you are.
That's all that matters."

-

Whom did you once love?
Arrow-shield loves all the other skeletons.
Who here among the skeletons did you once feel fierce loyalty toward, and why?
Rusted Shirt, because they saved me from the headman's block.

Double May Care
Mar 28, 2012

We need Dragon-type Pokemon to help us prepare our food before we cook it. We're not sure why!

Tattered Cloak



it's gone

the eyes no longer burn into me
not my eyes at least

the behemoth looms over me
six eyes
my blade gleams with something
some gift from my past

i run
sword held overhead
i swing it against the molded clumps
masking the form of
whomever this is
the faces no longer bring meaning to me

the wrath of my lord
channeled through my hands
so long ago

...

i'm sorry herida
some stains will never be clean
i'm sorry
i tried all i knew to do
i'm sorry
i held you always, even then

What was your name?
Segart.
Whom did you once love?
Herida, for whom I almost slew my lord.
What byname did you earn in life that describes your greatest accomplishment?
Blood Standard, a name for the cloak which was once sopping in blood, as well as the executioner who bore it.
Who here among the skeletons richly deserves this fate, and why?
Rusted Shirt, for being an unfit leader among forsaken sacrifices.

Fathis Munk
Feb 23, 2013

??? ?
Headless


Suddenly I can feel it, I can feel myself. I hang onto my lips, I can see them move, I can make them move. Suddenly I know, everything falls into pla--

I swirl away, apart, it vanishes.

I am standing here, alone again, alone with Arrow-Shield.

As my comrade touches me, my mind snaps back to the dark and dank tomb, driving away the last remnants of my former self. What have they done, why did they drive the specter away? How dare they dismiss the importance of myself.

In a sudden fit of rage I push them back, I need to explore this tomb, maybe the apparition is waiting for me somewhere else.

Maybe, if it pleases the gods, I may catch one more glimpse of my face.


What connection do you have to those you’ve just killed or driven away? What memory did they evoke?
I was part of the first wave of sacrifices, at the time it was a great honor for us.
Whom did you once love?
Headless loved themselves and the Gods. But mostly themselves

AJ_Impy
Jun 17, 2007

SWORD OF SMATTAS. CAN YOU NOT HEAR A WORLD CRY OUT FOR JUSTICE? WHEN WILL YOU DELIVER IT?
Yam Slacker
Tattered Cloak

You chip away at the fresco, defacing and vandalizing it, harming the tomb you were bound and animated to protect.

What makes you stop, and when?

Arrow-Shield

Headless gives you a vicious shove and runs off deeper into the tomb.

How do you react? What will you do now?

Headless

You plunge heedlessly up uneven, twisted steps, corridor to corridor, room to room, yearning for a mirror into times long past. But no. There are only two shades, two intruders not exorcised, and those two are fading swiftly.

Where does your rush take you? What do you learn?

All of you are aware that the last two intruding shades are waning. Will you interact with them or let them fade, and your consciousness with it?

Double May Care
Mar 28, 2012

We need Dragon-type Pokemon to help us prepare our food before we cook it. We're not sure why!

Tattered Cloak



i need to see the people
the masses rising against the beast
though their ranks broke

i always thought i was among the people
too late in understanding i was the creature
turning my sword on the people i thought to represent

but this is their history
or myths we defend
by our hands

i lift my cloak and press my blade on it
take the small scrap and rub it in the tomb's slime
then press it onto a soldier among the masses
maybe someone will make the connection

i feel the draw
spirits of the other warriors
i suppose that's my duty
i move to the central chamber

What was your name?
Segart.
Whom did you once love?
Herida, for whom I almost slew my lord.
What byname did you earn in life that describes your greatest accomplishment?
Blood Standard, a name for the cloak which was once sopping in blood, as well as the executioner who bore it.
Who here among the skeletons richly deserves this fate, and why?
Rusted Shirt, for being an unfit leader among forsaken sacrifices.

UnCO3
Feb 11, 2010

Ye gods!

College Slice
Arrow-shield


Ah
Their obsession grows
This prison jades us.

I stare after them retreating from my slackening grasp, then look to my splintered stump, then turn and trudge back the way I came.

The least I can do
Is let my saviour
Out of this ashpit.

-

Going back to the Western chamber.

Whom did you once love?
Arrow-shield loves all the other skeletons.
Who here among the skeletons did you once feel fierce loyalty toward, and why?
Rusted Shirt, because they saved me from the headman's block.

Fathis Munk
Feb 23, 2013

??? ?
Headless


I run through the tomb, trying to cling to an ember of hope. As the spark withers away, I stop.

My feet have carried me back to the southern crossroad, once more. I can feel the presence of other specters in the tomb, but they could offer me only disappointment. I raise my head an peer through the hole, trying to spot the stars and the gods that live beyond.

And suddenly I notice, the lump of metal, that gift from the gods, it is gone. Did someone take it? Who, where? Am I being punished for my obsession, is this a delayed punishment for digging through the architect's urn?

Frantically I search the room, why is everything taken from me.

What connection do you have to those you’ve just killed or driven away? What memory did they evoke?
I was part of the first wave of sacrifices, at the time it was a great honor for us.
Whom did you once love?
Headless loved themselves and the Gods. But mostly themselves

AJ_Impy
Jun 17, 2007

SWORD OF SMATTAS. CAN YOU NOT HEAR A WORLD CRY OUT FOR JUSTICE? WHEN WILL YOU DELIVER IT?
Yam Slacker
Tattered Cloak and Headless

You return to the places where you watch eternal, and it is not long before the intruders have faded, ushering you into your quiescent mode. Be it standing guard or frantically looking for a lump of metal, oblivion subsumes your consciousness until next time.

Arrow-Shield

There they are, translucent and fading, a dream upon waking. They regard you fondly, as they had in life, but there is little more that needs to be done for them to depart. You are present as they lose cohesion, until you are alone with Rusted Shirt's inert form once more. This strange incursion is at an end.

Double May Care
Mar 28, 2012

We need Dragon-type Pokemon to help us prepare our food before we cook it. We're not sure why!

ARISE AND PROTECT THE TOMB, SKELETAL GUARDIANS!



It is hot. Ungodly hot. Excruciating, making bones brittle. Whatever fates led you here must need to remind you that a volcano is your tomb. A century has passed since you subdued your spirits, and in that time the mountain has become quite active.

WORLDS CRUMBLE

Rusted Shirt, you notice the sarcophagus in your chamber has been warped. What once was a mirror of bronze has melted, and now lies in an uneven sheet on its plinth. The reflections that haunted observers are now idle metal, leaving dull stone in its place.

quote:

Pit Slaves

A haggard crew of miners in chains break into the tomb, driven on by their cruel overseer, exposing an adjacent vein of furiously hot magma in the process. There are a dozen of them and they are weak, hobbled and terrified. Everyone answers one question if they wish; the killer of the overseer may answer two. Choose once on either the Glory Fades or Gods Laugh table.

In the north entryway, the hollow moans warning of the unsealed tomb is soon overwhelmed by a timbre of iron banging against stone. A dozen sickly slaves drag chains into the passage, groaning and yelping with fear. At the order of their whip-wielding master, they swing their picks into the wall ahead of them.

A light rumble shakes the chambers and corridors where you continually find your rest, a long wave of sulfur glances your senses, and a chord of screams both panicked and pained call out to you. Whip cracks still the voices and the beats of iron continue anew, driving further into the tomb.

What do you do?

Double May Care fucked around with this message at 17:16 on Mar 20, 2019

Fathis Munk
Feb 23, 2013

??? ?
Headless


I awake with a start. I was looking for something, but what was it?

The air is hot and heavy, and after our last watch, the noise seems deafening. The groans and cries are unmistakably human. I grab my mace and my holy sign and move towards the sounds, maybe this time I can save some of them, return their souls to the gods above. Maybe they will restore all I have lost.

What connection do you have to those you’ve just killed or driven away? What memory did they evoke?
I was part of the first wave of sacrifices, at the time it was a great honor for us.
Whom did you once love?
Headless loved themselves and the Gods. But mostly themselves

AJ_Impy
Jun 17, 2007

SWORD OF SMATTAS. CAN YOU NOT HEAR A WORLD CRY OUT FOR JUSTICE? WHEN WILL YOU DELIVER IT?
Yam Slacker
Rusted Shirt


Such changes to the tomb!
How long was I dormant?
How short will this waking be?

The sarcophagus is warped!
Are the seals still intact?
So it seems, for now.

We lost so much to imprison it,
Lost so much to watch eternal.
Let it never be in vain!

Not Kelchirdzem despite the damage.
So, the sound from without
Lost souls in living bodies.

I hear the crack of a whip.
I always hated slavers and oppression.
When I spared Arrow-Shield, my Segart thought it unfitting for a leader.

And yet he nearly slew his lord for me.
How differently it would have gone if he succeeded!
This time, my weapon will speak true.

For I know I am Herida,
I know that we will free them,
From a cruel master and a cruel life.

Who here among the skeletons was once a great rival of yours, and in what endeavor?
I killed Headless and vice versa when we were sacrifices, for holy glory and honour.
Whose bones rest within the great sarcophagus?
Kelchiredzem, a vile creature defeated in ages past.
What was your name?
Herida.

UnCO3
Feb 11, 2010

Ye gods!

College Slice
Arrow-shield


The darkness burns me
Just like the first time
When I still had flesh.

Now it is not mine
That I smell burning
But sordid mewlings.

Once again to my feet, like so many times before - now hefting against the dusty fungal mass that cages and pillows me and ripping it from the wall. This time will be like the others, I know. The faint glimmer of worthy foes and glorious battle pulls me onward, hiding the dim shine of unjust and tedious bloodletting. I can only hope that the good company of my fellows will liven these fleeting moments of waking stewardship.

Here, trusty shield
There, jagged knife-arm
Relievers of pain.

I go East and up
Familiar steps
Charred prints in my wake.

-

Whom did you once love?
Arrow-shield loves all the other skeletons.
Who here among the skeletons did you once feel fierce loyalty toward, and why?
Rusted Shirt, because they saved me from the headman's block.

Double May Care
Mar 28, 2012

We need Dragon-type Pokemon to help us prepare our food before we cook it. We're not sure why!

Rusted Shirt
Northern Crossroad

You descend the corridor, turning one of many corners to see an intense glow. Pallid faces shriek at your arrival, tug at the chains strung between their ankles, try to break free with their pickaxes, and unintentionally trip one of their own in the struggle to escape from you. The overseer, dressed dramatically well compared to his legion, shoves the straggler to his feet and unlocks a link in the line. Six of the slaves are ordered toward you while the rest moves down the other path. On the wall just between the groups, a small hole has begun spewing magma onto the floor in uneven burps.

What do you do?

Headless
Northern Passages

You pass by the bronze-adorned sarcophagus, also taking in the lack of sheen from the metal. Moving farther north, you see Rusted Shirt disappear around corners a good distance ahead of you. Soon you hear many people screaming in fear as well as the telltale chime of chains, and just ahead the corridor turns a bright orange.

What do you do?

Arrow-Shield
Northern Passages

As you pass through the eastern chamber, you glance at the enormous mural on the opposite wall. Many cuts have been made along the bottom half, and Tattered Cloak's inanimate form lies below it. Moving north, you hear screams farther ahead and catch a glance of orange light just beyond. A steady cadence of jangling footsteps await, as well as the rising temperature.

What do you do?

UnCO3
Feb 11, 2010

Ye gods!

College Slice
Arrow-shield


I glance as I pass
Inanimate friend
And icons of hate.

I remember who we're here to guard. We went from one tyrant to another, one alive, the other dead. Both hated. People named me with the epithet 'the Bloodless', because I didn't hate my enemies, but even I can find it in me to hate some things. Not that it makes much difference here, as I am now. I carry on my way towards the source of the unbearable heat, and the screams.

Ah, there was one other reason my friends called me Bloodless, now that I remember. I shed so much of my own blood in counless melee that they said I couldn't possibly have any more left in me. All shed for the king. Almost all.

Funny,
really
that it's almost true.

May his soul bleed, fester, and rot.

On to the battle
To sacrifice blood
To contain the beast.

-

Whom did you once love?
Arrow-shield loves all the other skeletons.
What byname did you earn in life that describes your greatest accomplishment?
'the Bloodless', because it was said that I shed all my blood for the king - or because I didn't hate my enemies, depending on who you asked.
Who here among the skeletons did you once feel fierce loyalty toward, and why?
Rusted Shirt, because they saved me from the headman's block.

AJ_Impy
Jun 17, 2007

SWORD OF SMATTAS. CAN YOU NOT HEAR A WORLD CRY OUT FOR JUSTICE? WHEN WILL YOU DELIVER IT?
Yam Slacker
Rusted Shirt


Oh, no you don't.
Privilege and position hold no sway here,
Your doom is the same as theirs.

Half-spear hefted in hand,
Hurled at the bearer of the whip,
Let him be pinned, let him bleed out.

This is not redemption for the chained,
But it might offer respite.
Will they fight on when the whip falls slack?

Their trespasses have earned their end,
Their desecration has sealed their fate,
That magma leak is going to need a plug.


Who here among the skeletons was once a great rival of yours, and in what endeavor?
I killed Headless and vice versa when we were sacrifices, for holy glory and honour.
Whose bones rest within the great sarcophagus?
Kelchiredzem, a vile creature defeated in ages past.
What was your name?
Herida.

Fathis Munk
Feb 23, 2013

??? ?
Headless


As I move north I throw an idle glance at the bronze sarcophagus, only to discover that my reflection is gone from its surface. This was the last place I was able to see myself clearly, gone now.

I spy one of my companions moving north and pull myself together. Everything started falling apart when I dug through that urn, a brief greedy madness and I seem to have doomed us all. I need to right the wrong I have brought upon us, I need to save these souls and bring them to the gods as atonement for my transgressions.

I hurry up, trying to catch up with Rusted Shirt before that fool kills them all.

What connection do you have to those you’ve just killed or driven away? What memory did they evoke?
I was part of the first wave of sacrifices, at the time it was a great honor for us.
Whom did you once love?
Headless loved themselves and the Gods. But mostly themselves

Double May Care
Mar 28, 2012

We need Dragon-type Pokemon to help us prepare our food before we cook it. We're not sure why!

Arrow-Shield

You approach six haggard slaves hefting pickaxes. A few of them shout and recoil at you, driven on by the remaining members. They hesitantly raise their picks and make motions toward you as the glow of magma trickles past your feet.

How do you react?

Rusted Shirt

You hurl your spear toward the overseer, who ducks behind one of his bodies. It clatters to the ground, then he scoops it up and cracks the whip in his other hand. The slaves continue their reluctant charge as he moves away from both you and the growing stream of magma.

They might be able to resist you on equal footing. They fill the corridor with their numbers. Do you hold them off?

Headless

You arrive on the scene of a dozen terrified slaves filing through the tomb, spurned on by a looming master. Your ally missed their throw, relinquishing their broken weapon to the intruder's hands. In the corner of the crossroad, magma flows out of the wall and toward the opposite corridor.

What do you do?

UnCO3
Feb 11, 2010

Ye gods!

College Slice
Arrow-shield


Slaves and foul masters.
The world hasn't changed
In all my black years.

Slaves are poorly-treated, poorly-fed, poorly-disciplined. The only thing keeping them in line is fear - but a terrible fear, not a sensible one. No matter how overwhelming their enemy, they can always be spurred on by one twisted man or beast with a whip and a voice. But still, poorly-treated, and fed, and disciplined.

One step at a time.
Picks are not weapons.
Slaves are not soldiers.

-

Advancing, using the shield to deflect blows by glancing them off, slowly driving the pit slaves back, using superior training and instincts to ward them off.

Whom did you once love?
Arrow-shield loves all the other skeletons.
What byname did you earn in life that describes your greatest accomplishment?
'the Bloodless', because it was said that I shed all my blood for the king - or because I didn't hate my enemies, depending on who you asked.
Who here among the skeletons did you once feel fierce loyalty toward, and why?
Rusted Shirt, because they saved me from the headman's block.

AJ_Impy
Jun 17, 2007

SWORD OF SMATTAS. CAN YOU NOT HEAR A WORLD CRY OUT FOR JUSTICE? WHEN WILL YOU DELIVER IT?
Yam Slacker
Rusted Shirt


Tsk, they think they're on an equal footing.
Nothing about the footing in this place is equal or even
Make the front ones stumble.

Drive them back towards the hole,
Drive them back towards the magma.
They will be the plug.

They made the hole.
They will fill it.
They will not survive doing so.

Who here among the skeletons was once a great rival of yours, and in what endeavor?
I killed Headless and vice versa when we were sacrifices, for holy glory and honour.
Whose bones rest within the great sarcophagus?
Kelchiredzem, a vile creature defeated in ages past.
What was your name?
Herida.

Fathis Munk
Feb 23, 2013

??? ?
Headless


It seems the fighting has already started. I quicken my pace and do my best to push in front of Rusted Shirt, these poor souls need to be offered salvation, I need to return them to the Gods.

I raise my holy symbol to the heavens and try to look as non-threatening and comforting as is possible, being a headless skeleton.

Memories come flooding back from the times before, when I still had my angelic face, when my tongue was still working. It was a time of war and I was among the prisoners, I left as a lowly acolyte but I came back a hero.

I was still whole and no one could resist my charm. Converting the infidel barbarian king came easy to me, it was only a matter of time, of well-chosen whispered words and meaningful glances.

The temple named me Hierophant for my role in brokering the piece and converting our enemies, but the common folk preferred to call me the Silver Tongue, and I have always favored the latter.

That tongue is gone now, and all I have are these bones and my holy symbol.

What connection do you have to those you’ve just killed or driven away? What memory did they evoke?
I was part of the first wave of sacrifices, at the time it was a great honor for us.
Whom did you once love?
Headless loved themselves and the Gods. But mostly themselves
What byname did you earn in life that describes your greatest accomplishment?
I was called the Silver Tongue for ending a war by converting a barbarian king.

Double May Care
Mar 28, 2012

We need Dragon-type Pokemon to help us prepare our food before we cook it. We're not sure why!

Arrow-Shield

The slaves are surprisingly resistant to your advance, pounding a steady learned rhythm against your shield. Refusing to spill their blood, your pace quickens and your bones tense, almost sensing the muscles that once enveloped them.

GODS LAUGH

Your spirit surges as you take a firm stance against their volley. With a swing of your arm their strikes cease, overcome with powerless awe. They line against the wall away from the magma, allowing you to move forward. Ahead you see your fellow skeletons driving away another group, and just beyond, the overseer running toward the entrance.

What do you do?

Rusted Shirt

Your fervor indeed causes the slaves to stumble, the front falling onto the back who in turn scorch their feet in the magma. Their shrieking causes the group to stop fighting for the moment, gather away from the stream and care for the injured. One of them still looks up at you, pick held across her body to block your strikes.

You may be able to hurt them here. They bandage their injuries from the burns you indirectly caused. Do you inflict harm?

Headless

Looking over the mass, they seem occupied with the burned one, ripping parts of their clothes to wrap his feet and hands. He looks ready to give in, and with the slaver somewhere out of whip's length he seems almost relieved. However, he notices both you and Rusted Shirt and is stricken with horror. The rest of the group eyes you warily, confused by your brandished symbol and cautious of your colleague's sword.

What do you do?

UnCO3
Feb 11, 2010

Ye gods!

College Slice
Arrow-shield


My path is clear now
Resistance no more
But if I can reach them...

Not terror or bloodshed, but awe, rules the day. I would not harm them before, and now they have all but surrendered.

My spectral-real self strains against the boundaries of the black iron law - intruders begone - and for a moment, yes, I reassert myself. There is another way. These people do not have to die. They must only leave this place. All I can do is help them to the threshold, help them to see. I do not know how they might fare outside. I do not know if they will follow my meaning or take my opportunity, or whether they will still be cowed by their masters. Still, I have to try.

We have but one chance.
I point to their boss.
No kings, no masters.

-

Whom did you once love?
Arrow-shield loves all the other skeletons.
What byname did you earn in life that describes your greatest accomplishment?
'the Bloodless', because it was said that I shed all my blood for the king - or because I didn't hate my enemies, depending on who you asked.
Who here among the skeletons did you once feel fierce loyalty toward, and why?
Rusted Shirt, because they saved me from the headman's block.

AJ_Impy
Jun 17, 2007

SWORD OF SMATTAS. CAN YOU NOT HEAR A WORLD CRY OUT FOR JUSTICE? WHEN WILL YOU DELIVER IT?
Yam Slacker
Rusted Shirt


They are in no condition to escape.
They are in no condition to loot.
They are in no condition to fight.

I point at the last defender.
I point at the hole in the wall.
That should be clear enough.

I head after the whip bearer
I head after the spear stealer
I head after the tomb defiler.

Only one poses an active threat.
That threat will be neutralised.
The rest is cleanup.


Who here among the skeletons was once a great rival of yours, and in what endeavor?
I killed Headless and vice versa when we were sacrifices, for holy glory and honour.
Whose bones rest within the great sarcophagus?
Kelchiredzem, a vile creature defeated in ages past.
What was your name?
Herida.

Fathis Munk
Feb 23, 2013

??? ?
Headless


The slaves are huddled around the burned one and while they are wary, they do not seem belligerent. I try to approach, palms open and up-turned.

The burns are bad and I fear the slave will not remain conscious for long, now is the time to redeem his soul and send him along to the gods. I do not care for his life, he is insignificant, I only need his soul, I need all of their souls to atone for my sins.

I remember the old ritual for consecrating the dying, kneel next to them, trace the pattern on their forehead, their mouth, their heart. I just need to get there before he loses consciousness.

What connection do you have to those you’ve just killed or driven away? What memory did they evoke?
I was part of the first wave of sacrifices, at the time it was a great honor for us.
Whom did you once love?
Headless loved themselves and the Gods. But mostly themselves
What byname did you earn in life that describes your greatest accomplishment?
I was called the Silver Tongue for ending a war by converting a barbarian king.

[/quote]

Double May Care
Mar 28, 2012

We need Dragon-type Pokemon to help us prepare our food before we cook it. We're not sure why!

Rusted Shirt
Northern Entryway

You pursue the overseer as he flees, disheartened by your presence here. He reaches the stone slab he ordered to be broken open by the slaves, finding it solid as the day it was first sealed. He shouts curses at you, draws a polished club from his belt and beats his chest in frustrated defiance.

What do you do?

Headless
Northern Crossroad

The intruders understand your gestures and cautiously open their huddle to you. As you place your hand against the victim's head, you feel a terrible burning--not from him, but from within yourself. The magic binding you to the tomb wrenches your hand away, causing the intruders to flinch. The victim jerks his head from your sudden movement, stirs with fevered confusion, and gives in to the pain. Your mace buzzes against your bones and your holy symbol seems to rattle. Behind you, you feel a terrified intruder slowly raising her pick once more.

How do you react?

Arrow-Shield
Northern Crossroad

You direct the group's attention down the corridor toward the fleeing overseer. There's a moment of understanding before the slaves file along to your direction. They pause to sever the links restraining them, then make a mad dash past you.

What do you do?

Double May Care fucked around with this message at 23:37 on Apr 6, 2019

AJ_Impy
Jun 17, 2007

SWORD OF SMATTAS. CAN YOU NOT HEAR A WORLD CRY OUT FOR JUSTICE? WHEN WILL YOU DELIVER IT?
Yam Slacker
Rusted Shirt


I'll be taking that halfspear back now.
Then again, you wanted to take it with you.
Here, you can have the point.

Hmm, you didn't seem happy or grateful.
Let's try that again.
Harder this time.

You came here to despoil.
You came here to loot.
You came here to get stabbed repeatedly.

Who here among the skeletons was once a great rival of yours, and in what endeavor?
I killed Headless and vice versa when we were sacrifices, for holy glory and honour.
Whose bones rest within the great sarcophagus?
Kelchiredzem, a vile creature defeated in ages past.
What was your name?
Herida.

UnCO3
Feb 11, 2010

Ye gods!

College Slice
Arrow-shield


Not all is lost here
The slaves taste freedom
There is yet hope here!

I bound to the corner, past the magma leak and Headless' ministry, and around into the entryway. There they are - and there is Herida, and the slaver, and--

The portal is closed
Their fate is sealed.

This place devours us.

-

Whom did you once love?
Arrow-shield loves all the other skeletons.
What byname did you earn in life that describes your greatest accomplishment?
'the Bloodless', because it was said that I shed all my blood for the king - or because I didn't hate my enemies, depending on who you asked.
Who here among the skeletons did you once feel fierce loyalty toward, and why?
Rusted Shirt, because they saved me from the headman's block.

Fathis Munk
Feb 23, 2013

??? ?
Headless


A red rage builds inside me. Why won't you let me save you, I need to save you, I have to save you, why won't you just let me.

Maybe these wretches are not worth saving, maybe the best I can do is sacrifice them, offer their meager lifeforce to the Gods.

My anger is building and I raise the mace to strike, first the wounded miner, then all the others. I might still be able to find some use for them.

What connection do you have to those you’ve just killed or driven away? What memory did they evoke?
I was part of the first wave of sacrifices, at the time it was a great honor for us.
Whom did you once love?
Headless loved themselves and the Gods. But mostly themselves
What byname did you earn in life that describes your greatest accomplishment?
I was called the Silver Tongue for ending a war by converting a barbarian king.

Double May Care
Mar 28, 2012

We need Dragon-type Pokemon to help us prepare our food before we cook it. We're not sure why!

Rusted Shirt

Behind you, you hear the screaming of slaves coming down the corridor to take down the overseer. In his shock you strike, driving your spear from his hand into his chest. Again and again, as the other intruders can only watch you bring him to the ground. They finally push you aside and desecrate his body while one tries desperately to break the slab barring their way. Sweat pours from them as they continue, ignoring you completely.

What do you do?

Arrow-Shield

You see Herida kill the overseer before being discarded by the intruders you've rallied. They tear into the body with their picks and fists while a single slave attempts to make purchase into the seal trapping them here. With each beat you feel the energy animating you pulsing harder and harder. It feels as if it's beating your sternum, letting you feel the pain of the tomb first-hand.

What do you do?

Headless

Your club cracks into him, making the intruders hurry to gather their weapons. The magma continues bubbling forth as you turn to the disgusted woman behind you, who swings clumsily and feels your divine anger soon after. The rest look haggard and winded, having sat by intense heat for so long. Their eyes burn red with tears and perspiration, dragging their picks along the ground toward you.

What do you do?

UnCO3
Feb 11, 2010

Ye gods!

College Slice
Arrow-shield


I touch my ribcage.
By this throbbing pain
The tomb commands me.

Whether it's an evil influence or a chance bond, the tomb has wormed its way deeper inside of me than I thought it could ever reach. It's bound me for so long with its laws, and now it slowly cripples me with its agony? No. No longer. No more glory to be had, no more mercy to give, no more patience to burn. The intruders will go. The halls will fall silent. The tomb will have what it wants, but not how it wants, not if I have any say.

My newfound tomb-strength almost makes my broken stump-arm feel irrelevant. I grasp my sternum with phantom hands - and wrench with all my might.

Let us see
If this pain
Goes both ways.

-

Ripping out my sternum to try and open the tomb... if the bond goes both ways.

Whom did you once love?
Arrow-shield loves all the other skeletons.
What byname did you earn in life that describes your greatest accomplishment?
'the Bloodless', because it was said that I shed all my blood for the king - or because I didn't hate my enemies, depending on who you asked.
Who here among the skeletons did you once feel fierce loyalty toward, and why?
Rusted Shirt, because they saved me from the headman's block.

Fathis Munk
Feb 23, 2013

??? ?
Headless


Repent I want to yell at them. Lay down your weapons, kneel before me and accept the honor to be sent to the gods by me. I wonder if these poor wretches even know who I am, I wonder... do they still know of the Silver Tongue?

The simple question makes me briefly stop dead in my tracks. A short moment of uncertainty before I press on.

Continuing to serve the gods is the only way I have of furthering my legacy, I know my service will be rewarded. Souls must be offered and so I keep moving towards the workers.

What connection do you have to those you’ve just killed or driven away? What memory did they evoke?
I was part of the first wave of sacrifices, at the time it was a great honor for us.
Whom did you once love?
Headless loved themselves and the Gods. But mostly themselves
What byname did you earn in life that describes your greatest accomplishment?
I was called the Silver Tongue for ending a war by converting a barbarian king.

AJ_Impy
Jun 17, 2007

SWORD OF SMATTAS. CAN YOU NOT HEAR A WORLD CRY OUT FOR JUSTICE? WHEN WILL YOU DELIVER IT?
Yam Slacker
Rusted Shirt


You've had your fun.
I'll be taking his body now.
There is one intrusion that remains a threat.

I did not set all this in motion for no good reason.
Kelchiredzem must be guarded eternally.
They did not name me The Cager of Demons for nothing.

A hole in the wall where magma oozes through.
A plug of carbon will quench it enough.
Such as his body would become.

So, slavedriver, taskmaster, intruder.
You caused this problem.
You will be its solution.

Pressing the corpse to the hole, squished into the magma leak.
Had I a nose I imagine the aroma would be unforgettable.
Either way, it poses a threat the slaves do not, and this should end it.


Who here among the skeletons was once a great rival of yours, and in what endeavor?
I killed Headless and vice versa when we were sacrifices, for holy glory and honour.
Whose bones rest within the great sarcophagus?
Kelchiredzem, a vile creature defeated in ages past.
What was your name?
Herida.
What byname did you earn in life that describes your greatest accomplishment?
The Cager of Demons

Double May Care
Mar 28, 2012

We need Dragon-type Pokemon to help us prepare our food before we cook it. We're not sure why!

Arrow-Shield
Northern Entryway
You wrench open your ribcage, the bone in your hand tugging toward your chest to repair what you'd done. As your tomb-given strength fights against itself, you feel a light rumble as smoke seeps from pores in the stone, reeking of brimstone. Whether by your own hand, something builds in the tomb to further exhaust the intruders in front of you, who cough and hunch over while gathering toward the entrance. The seal remains, without a scratch.

What do you do?

Headless
Northern Crossroad

As you approach the remaining intruders, smoke rises from the floor and causes them to wheeze. They easily submit to your influence, the last one looking particularly repentant. When there's none left, Rusted Shirt comes in dragging the overseer's desecrated corpse and uses his remains to halt the magma. You hear more pained breaths ahead, growing softer and softer.

What do you do?

Rusted Shirt
Northern Crossroad

You wrestle what remains of the overseer out of the slaves' grip and drag him back to the crossroads. His head and chest have been caved in, his clothes are shredded, and anything of monetary value has been taken off of him. Carefully stepping around the leak, you drive the body against the hole. He instantly catches fire, but through your determination the putrid melting corpse eventually halts the flow of magma.

What do you do?

The heat and smoke is sure to undo the intruders eventually, the magic waning from your bones. Do you pursue them, or let them waste away?

UnCO3
Feb 11, 2010

Ye gods!

College Slice
Arrow-shield


Bones crumble
Sight flickers
Does it hurt...?

-

Whom did you once love?
Arrow-shield loves all the other skeletons.
What byname did you earn in life that describes your greatest accomplishment?
'the Bloodless', because it was said that I shed all my blood for the king - or because I didn't hate my enemies, depending on who you asked.
Who here among the skeletons did you once feel fierce loyalty toward, and why?
Rusted Shirt, because they saved me from the headman's block.

Fathis Munk
Feb 23, 2013

??? ?
Headless


They repent! They repent!

I send their souls to the Gods with all the mercy I can muster, making doubly sure to consecrate the sacrifices.

I pay little attention to the morbid spectacle of my companion dragging a body along and hurry down the corridor towards the voices. Perhaps I can offer some more souls, maybe that will be enough for the Gods to reward me, to restore me.

What connection do you have to those you’ve just killed or driven away? What memory did they evoke?
I was part of the first wave of sacrifices, at the time it was a great honor for us.
Whom did you once love?
Headless loved themselves and the Gods. But mostly themselves
What byname did you earn in life that describes your greatest accomplishment?
I was called the Silver Tongue for ending a war by converting a barbarian king.

AJ_Impy
Jun 17, 2007

SWORD OF SMATTAS. CAN YOU NOT HEAR A WORLD CRY OUT FOR JUSTICE? WHEN WILL YOU DELIVER IT?
Yam Slacker
Rusted Shirt


The last threat to the tomb is ended
I watch the former slaves die dispassionately
Death frees them.

Will any rise to join us?
Will they be dust when next we are called to act?
It remains a mystery.

Kelchiredzem remains caged.
We continue our vigil.
Into unconsciousness.

Who here among the skeletons was once a great rival of yours, and in what endeavor?
I killed Headless and vice versa when we were sacrifices, for holy glory and honour.
Whose bones rest within the great sarcophagus?
Kelchiredzem, a vile creature defeated in ages past.
What was your name?
Herida.
What byname did you earn in life that describes your greatest accomplishment?
The Cager of Demons

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Double May Care
Mar 28, 2012

We need Dragon-type Pokemon to help us prepare our food before we cook it. We're not sure why!

Everyone

You watch as the last of the slaves, unable to lift their weapons any longer, collapse onto the ground and pain themselves to breathe.

Rusted Shirt, you see the them close their eyes one by one until they finally stop moving, knowing soon you will too.

Headless, you arrive moments too late, the life having left their bodies and the consciousness leaving yours.

Arrow-Shield, it does.

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