Turn 50 - AlightenmentGronok notes Onon's appearance, moving quickly to wipe out the filthy lies scratched in the dirt with his ancient slightly, chewed foot.
"Huh. I commend you for your ingenuity. Mo'kar is surely proud.""That's good, I suppose. My back didn't appreciate the tree branch much, however. But at least I've curried favor with the divine power.""Sorry about that, but I'm not as young as I used to be and there are those reddish brown stains over there.""Oh, that. There were some small berries over there and you fell on them. I figured I shouldn't let you sleep in gunk, so I rolled you slightly away."Gronok clears his throat slightly.
"Well, now that this misunderstanding has been cleared up, I'd better apologize to Mo'kar for taking the easiest assumption rather than searching for the truth."Gronok immediately kneels in his leafy bedding, praying to Mo'kar. He is suddenly hit with an amazing vision! It's a large city, larger than any he's seen so far. And it's on fire, burning intensely, the air full of screams of heretics. However, among them all stands one man. He is not on fire. He is not impressed. He is not one of the faithful.
"Burn my flesh and slay my fellows, but you will not break me. None can break me. I am the man you cannot touch, the man you cannot reach. And yet I can reach any man for a price. I am the torch of disobedience, the one that never laughs, but always mocks."Maybe it's because he might be an asshole, but Gronok can't help but intensely dislike this man. He gets the feeling that this man has... gravely wronged him in a way both unspeakable and imperceptible to the mind, yet perfectly clear in an emotional sense. As he opens his eyes, he feels himself consumed by a hatred he has never felt before. A hatred whose origins transcend him and stem from something else, something higher. Perhaps even the mind of Mo'kar himself.
* * * * *
Lars diverts his attention to the guard, pointing at him most sternly.
"Foul heathen, one who would follow the false Kezilam! Repent your sins, turn away from your false god and follow, now, the One True God! Convert, or taste the cleansing flames!""Um, how about no?""Then let the flames of the one true God consume your heathen flesh!"Lars' entire body radiates a white glow briefly, his breath turning to acrid smoke as he spits out the words of righteous hatred, turning the full attention of God on the guard. A split second passes as the guard is enveloped in bright white flames, heat radiating from his body. It is but a flash of divine flame, subsiding in a second, but this second proves enough for the guard to stop resembling so much a guard of a temple as a standing mass of scars and painful boils, his current existence clearly a bit too painful for the average mind to consider.
[Temple Guard endurance roll: 2]
He falls over in a screaming, twitching heap, his mind struggling to accept his new state of being. His new enlightenment, so to speak. Or should it be "alightenment"? The public looks visibly shaken by this display.
"Holy crap! Even prophets didn't do that in my day! And they were real prophets of Kezilam, unlike those sissies you get these days.""Indeed! Limitless debauchery and holy fire, how could we possibly go wrong with that combination?""Evangelize to us some more, oh mighty prophet! We are willing to listen to you!"3 MP expended!
Heretics burned! 1 MP gained!* * * * *
Phiali, not discouraged by such setbacks, looks for some more sap to utilize for his needs. Unfortunately for him, no trees seem to secrete it in particularly large amounts, as this forest is peculiarly lacking in wounded trees of most kinds.
Well, you know what they say - nothing easier to make than new wounds! Unfortunately, wounding a tree is a bit of a tall order for Phiali right now, as he is experiencing a bit of a shortage of sharp implements. At least ones that wouldn't take forever to wound trees with. Stupid trees and their silly resilient bark.
* * * * *
As
Elizas leads the hapless Gezerim away from the prying eyes of undesirables, then lays it all out for him.
"If you don't have someplace safe and secret in the city, you need to get out of here. I foresee a great war to come."Gezerim shrugs.
"Sure, no problem. Thanks for the help, dear fellow. See you later!"He begins to quickly make his way in a certain direction, presumably to return to what he was doing. Huh.
Gronok: 0 MP
Lars: 3 MP
Phiali: 0 MP
Elizas: 3 MP
Shashari: 5 MP