Turn 11 - The TrialThere is complete silence in the temple of Amaliz Teze. All of the people gathered stand motionless and stare at the ten altars, which form a sort of semicircle at the back of the hall. It's eerie enough for
Gronok to begin feeling queasy. He stays at the back of the crowd, but remains watchful of any unusual happenings.
Soon enough, an atonal clang rings out through the temple and ten men in brilliant white robes enter in one line. Each takes his place over at an altar and nods his head solemnly. A very old man in gray robes soon follows them and stands in the middle of the semicircle of priests. The man clears his throat and speaks in a deep, echoing voice.
"Faithful of Kezilam, you are gathered here once again to witness the Annual Trial of Amaliz Teze, and it is my honor to be the one to judge these ten men by the grace of our Purest Mother, the Greater Judge of All That Lives. Glory to Kezilam and Her greatest prophet, Amaliz Teze, the Immaculate Child!"The crowd loudly repeats the man's last sentence.
[Subterfuge roll: 4]
Gronok does it as well, though mostly out of a desire to remain unseen and in a rather halfhearted fashion. He remains unnoticed, however. After the cheer is done, the gray man continues his speech.
"According to Our Mother's teachings, all that lives is corrupt in one way or another. There are none who can be said to be perfect. None except for the Chosen of Kezilam, Amaliz Teze, the man who was touched by Kezilam herself before his birth and given the Gift of Purity to lead us mortals from our dark existence. And this he did. He gathered ten followers and spread the word of Kezilam to the four corners of the earth, never failing or tiring in his quest, such was his purity! Sadly, his purity was not shared by all his followers. One was secretly harboring dissenting thoughts, terrible thoughts of lust, disobedience and personal greed! However, all was known to Amaliz Teze, and he held a trial among his flock to give the offender a chance to identify himself. Just as the Immaculate Child's flock was impure, so is ours, whether we like to admit it or not."The old man's face becomes incredibly grave.
"In the great tradition of many centuries, we once again hold our very own trial, very much like Amaliz Teze's. May impurity be found and identified for what it is, and may our head priests once again be pure in their entirety! Priests, present your arguments."The priest on the far right begins to explain how he has prayed for twelve hours every day for this entire year, holding himself up as a beacon of purity and separation from the sinful world around him. He goes on at great length about the many varied prayers he has said, explaining the significance and purity of each, both in the saying and the intent behind it. The old man, having listened intently the whole time, nods at the end and motions to the next one in line, who begins his speech by telling about all the alcoholics, whores and hedonists he has personally converted, going into a disturbing amount of detail about their previous lifestyles and the new lives they received upon converting.
Gronok can't help but find this whole idea strange. Judging priests in a trial
annually? Arguing one's own purity? What sort of religion is this?
* * * * *
Having had enough of any adventurous activity for today,
Phiali decides to pray.
[Prayer roll: 2]
Rationalizing that God hates waste, he decides to do without water on this particular prayer. After all, wouldn't want to run out of water when he desperately needs it. He prays for a bit, but finds no particular spiritual relief in it. Hm. Better fix himself up some dinner. Berries at the very least, he supposes.
[Search roll: 2]
The surrounding area is surprisingly empty of anything reasonably edible. And the only other thing he has with him is his last tiny piece of bread. He places it in his hand, then prays some more.
[Prayer roll: 2]
Once again, it doesn't really...
fill him as it usually should. Maybe he's doing something wrong. He ponders this while chewing on a piece of bread. It's still not dark, but it's not far away now. Two hours, maximum.
* * * * *
Elizas thanks the old fellow and heads to the house of Gezerim with his party of converts. He walks right up to the house and knocks on the door.
[Answer roll: 5]
A short, thin, withered man dressed in expensive finery opens the door immediately.
"Yes? What do you want? Are you... prospective guests?""Yes, actually. May we have a room for the night?""And a place to store some goods?""Why, of course. It will cost you, of course, but it is within my power to provide these things.""Excellent! So, the cost will be...""Never you mind what the cost will be. These things are best discussed in the morning and with a clear head, no? Now, would you come in? I have plenty of wine and entertainment to give if you would accept it."There is indeed the sound of revelry coming from within.
"But what about my-""Your goods will be safe. Boy!"Responding to Gezerim's call, a chipper voice comes from a side room.
"Yes, master?""Take care of the wagons.""Right away, master.""Now, come in. There is plenty of wine left for you yet. Women, too. I will also have beds made for all of you in some of my best rooms."He makes a polite, welcoming gesture, motioning the group to enter his rather exquisitely furnished house.
* * * * *
Feeling uncomfortable at having collided with a religious fellow (and she can guess which religion
he belongs to),
Sejena backs away and mutters an equally menacing prayer. She then tries to make herself scarce as fast as possible in order to prevent any unfortunate run-ins.
[Escape roll: 5]
She runs through several streets, ducks into a whole lot of alleyways and takes unusual detours through less-traveled locales, then maneuvers through the thick marketplace to make sure she's lost anybody who could possibly follow her. She feels rather safe now, all in all.
Gronok: 5 MP
Phiali: 0 MP
Elizas: 5 MP
Sejena: 2 MP
Shashari: 5 MP
Thought I'd say something: you can't regain MP by just praying. You have to do something that pleases your god in the process to get anything. Using things your god likes works, as does playing to its traits.
Author
Topic: Prophets of the New God: most unfortunately dropped. (Read 72983 times)