Print

Please login or register.
1 Hour 1 Day 1 Week 1 Month Forever
Login with username, password and session length

[Cheesecake]

"Your world sounds like a nice place. At least someone cared enough to improve things there. My world was as black, damp and cold as this cave. All the time. Day to night, year to year. The sun would come up once a month, so fire was the most important resource we had. Otherwise we'd all freeze."

[sjm9876]

Karia grimaced as Sucana spoke.

'Awful lot of we in there. You own all that livestock you're tending?'

Despite the harshness of her words, they are said in somewhat more humour than before - though she felt her point held true.

[Dwarmin]

"If you speak of slavery, it's certainly permitted-even encouraged, to acclimate those foreigners our armies captures to our society. One does not build all those roads on government pensions, child...

Our citizens have more rights than most people, though. Freedom to speak and write without threat of punishment. Freedom to gather a forum and air their complaints of their leaders. Those accused of a crime can call a magistrate and a quorum of twelve to argue and present proof of innocence. Even a slave can become a citizen by marriage or labor tax."

[sjm9876]

'More rights than most.'

Karia snorted. It was talk she'd heard far too much of over her life.

'As for slavery... I won't comment.'

Her smile had fallen, and her hand tightened somewhat on her blade though she did not raise it.
She'd heard such reasons before. They were prisoners of war, or criminals, and they were just keeping an eye on them until they were fit to go. Generally the slavers were as bad as whatever had caused their slaves to become such.

Still, the monarch wasn't personally responsible for such. Generally they were blinder than they were malicious. But now wasn't the time for eye opening.

[Dwarmin]

Sucana seems unaffected either way. She shrugs, noting the subdued anger.

"Running a Realm isn't an easy task-one often can only choose the path that will have the least amount of pain. This is reality...I've got more blood and misery on my hands than anyone in this room, a thousand times over. But I'd have more of it, if I was weak, or indecisive. That's the burden of being a leader-you must take those decisions upon yourself, when no one else will. The need to serve the greater good of ones people, even if you become something of a monster. Thousands upon thousands looked to me to lead them, to protect them. I was willing to suffer any price for their trust.

I sleep fine at night, if you're wondering."

[sjm9876]

Karia laughed - she didn't.

Still, she could see the sentiment. Maybe they were more alike than she had first thought. They just..... had seen things from a different perspective.

Of course, that wasn't what she said.

'Lovely. I have an especial soft spot for guiltless killers.'

Despite the words, her hand relaxed slightly on the blade.

[Dwarmin]

Sucana simply nods and turns to lean against the wall, as if bored with the discussion. In truth, she was intrigued. The woman's comment had been perhaps an unconscious confession, in it's own way.

[GiglameshDespair]

Essel and Slope together try to break down the wall. When leaning on it doesn't work, they hammer at it with the pommels of their swords, sending bricks to clatter int othe other side. With a sudden, loud collapse, mcuh of the wall gives way, and they're forced to leap back. They seem to have broken into some kind of storage room - piles of sacks lie heaped upon the floor among wooden bins with lids. Racks of wine bottles  are near the wooden door at the far end of the room.

The wall to your right is smashed, and you can see the edge of what seems to be a leg from the rubble. Perhaps someone was thrown with enough force they went through the wall...?

Karia and Sučana inspect the spiked monks. Silent now, they stare, gazes judging, down at the women. Their flesh is ripped and torn, yet bleeds little, but they lack the mutations of the three necrotic monks that had assaulted you. In closer inspection, the spikes are no metal - but smooth, unmarked bone spikes.

The statues behind them give an itching in your head when you look at the faces. You feel your recognise them, and a tiny voice whispers in your head...

A noble, smooth face, with sculpted facial hair and a stone crown on his marble brow. The King.
A man with a kind look, as far as you can tell clad in armour and with a great sword on his back. The Gentle Knight.
A woman with a thinking expression and long hair, bunched behind her head. The Wise Librarian.
Another man wth wild features and branches woven into his beard. The Unmatched Marksman.
A statue with the face chiseled off, all identifition removed and what little remains hidden behind the pinned monks. The Archeshard almost snarls the name in your head, somehow. The Fallen.

Spoiler: Characters (click to show/hide)

Sučana Maja
- Nothing of note

Karia the Stained
- Nothing of note

Slope
- Nothing of note

Essel
- Nothing of note

Spoiler: Author's note (click to show/hide)

Things have gone better than expected. Have an update.

[Dwarmin]

"...the Librarian? Uncorrupted...

...Are any of you alive, even? Can any of you hear me?" She says, addressing the spiked persons, her weapon at the ready.

[Parsely]

Look to my left to see where the man was standing when he was thrown.

[sjm9876]

Karia waited in silence for the victims(?) reply

[Cheesecake]

"Sweet! A storage room, my favorite kind!"

Loot the room!

[GiglameshDespair]

The monks look down at Sučana. The moment stretches out until one of them, finally, speaks.
"Hmmph. Foolish child... such a question is meaningless to us now we have been blessed." He grins, the expression ghastly on the ruined face. "You will see, I am sure."

Essel walks further into the storeroom and Slope attempts to loot it.

Slope opens sacks and sees yellow: not gold, but grain. Inside the bins are rock-hard loaves of bread or salted meats. They look as unappetising as they are long-lasting. but if you needed travelling food, you could no doubt do worse.

Essel looks at the broken wall and the corpse buried within the rubble. It seems to lead into another storeroom - this one is stacked high with barrels. A table in the centre has a lantern supplanting the candles in sconces along the walls. What seem to be a pair of short, thick sheets of glass - no larger than your hand - lie next to it.
The body seems to be one of the monks - he is heavily decayed, and smells the sickly sweet stench of rot. As far as you can tell, though, he was normal.

Both storerooms have a wooden door leading out, the timbers warped and buckled.

Spoiler: Characters (click to show/hide)

Sučana Maja
- Nothing of note

Karia the Stained
- Nothing of note

Slope
- Nothing of note

Essel
- Nothing of note

Spoiler: Author's note (click to show/hide)

I'd somehow missed Gunin's post until he pointed it out to me. :s

[Parsely]

((Are the candles or the lantern lit?))

[GiglameshDespair]

((Yes, they both are.))