Topic: Our Salvation: It Is Written (Read 262501 times)

penguinofhonor · « **Reply #315 on:** January 07, 2016, 06:27:35 pm »

"I'm not sure if you heard the commotion outside, but one of my friends was shouting 'sun' and 'moon' and shooting fire and swinging huge rocks around. The way he said the words reminded me of something from the well, so I went back there and somehow got my own word word from the hidden's door. It's powerful but... unpredictable. I'm not sure if I'm using it right. I know they seem different than your magic, but do you know anything about these magic words?"

Xantalos · « **Reply #316 on:** January 07, 2016, 07:04:19 pm »

"..."

Opportunity has knocked upon my door.

"Well, we obviously can't delay; I suppose I'll just have to take his place. I'm Jack, Jack Daniels. I do karate, which is (for these purposes) fighting, which means I have the best qualifications to do this sort of thing because I know how bodies work and how to hurt them. Now then, let's get a move on, we don't have all day. We're sacrificing that squiggly-spined person? Perfect, get him over to the slab if you could. Do we have any rope or somesuch to tie it down with, or will we have to nail it's limbs to the stone?

Oh, and does anyone have something sharp? We'll need it for the ceremony."

Assert myself in the temporary confusion given by the dude's absence. Get in an appropriate spot over by the stone and remove the mediocre apron for now, don't want my ceremony being not awesome.

Toaster · « **Reply #317 on:** January 07, 2016, 09:45:48 pm »

He'll be fine. There's more important things to do.

Wander around, pestering people in trying to find out where I *really* am and where can I go to make my meeting.

AoshimaMichio · « **Reply #318 on:** January 08, 2016, 12:00:28 am »

Granite! God damn granite! Though granite dust isn't any better, really. Hmm. Okay, no dust. Dust is bad. Granite cubes. Not in my lungs either, because that's really bad. On the floor.

Harry Baldman · « **Reply #319 on:** January 08, 2016, 10:30:38 am »

Quote from: Dermonster on January 07, 2016, 05:16:53 pm

"It's burns. A lot. A lot of burns. Nothing with blood. Or insides. Aloe vera? I could do with aloe vera. Maybe a vat."

Attempt to excavate burn treatment from doctor.

[Conversational Archaeology: 3]

You dig carefully at her notions of medical care, trying to reach some form of sensible treatment. She, however, has no vats of aloe vera to dunk you in. Not the right climate for it, you suggest, and she would agree. A vat of aloe vera does sound like a useful thing to possess, however, and she will consider getting one if somehow she is not murdered by stoatmen.

Anywho, looks like you've been fatally burned, she thinks. You voice disagreement with this notion, and she corrects herself - your burns ought to be fatal. However, for whatever reason they are not. She could open you up and take a look, she says as she glances at her rat-stained knife affectionately, maybe see if something inside you sheds some light on the matter.

Quote from: penguinofhonor on January 07, 2016, 06:27:35 pm

"I'm not sure if you heard the commotion outside, but one of my friends was shouting 'sun' and 'moon' and shooting fire and swinging huge rocks around. The way he said the words reminded me of something from the well, so I went back there and somehow got my own word word from the hidden's door. It's powerful but... unpredictable. I'm not sure if I'm using it right. I know they seem different than your magic, but do you know anything about these magic words?"

[Just Enough Knowledge: 6]

Magic words, you say? Not exactly the sort of thing a minder does, strictly speaking, minders are more of a thoughts-made-real kind of crowd. Quiet intensity and so forth. Though... wait, the hidden's door? You went in there? How was it? What did you see? Where did you get the word?

The girl rushes to the top of the domed ceiling, jumping down and only barely catching herself before impact, her softened landing expediently graceless. She asks you questions, drawing out half-thoughts that she reads and perhaps even reads into a little. A place of darkness, hungering for connections, bestowing knowledge? She salivates at the idea, its appeal far greater than digging through the personal effects of her three - er, two, really, since the hidden practically lived down there, though you can be damn sure they compensated for his absence in sheer entropy and then some!

Anyway, the well! And the words. Show her a word. Your description - your thoughts, they, er, snag a little, if you don't mind her saying. I mean, she probably wants one anyway. But better to know a little more first, so she doesn't look like a fool when she goes to talk to the well to establish her unquestioned ladyship.

Quote from: Xantalos on January 07, 2016, 07:04:19 pm

"..."

Opportunity has knocked upon my door.

"Well, we obviously can't delay; I suppose I'll just have to take his place. I'm Jack, Jack Daniels. I do karate, which is (for these purposes) fighting, which means I have the best qualifications to do this sort of thing because I know how bodies work and how to hurt them. Now then, let's get a move on, we don't have all day. We're sacrificing that squiggly-spined person? Perfect, get him over to the slab if you could. Do we have any rope or somesuch to tie it down with, or will we have to nail it's limbs to the stone?

Oh, and does anyone have something sharp? We'll need it for the ceremony."

Assert myself in the temporary confusion given by the dude's absence. Get in an appropriate spot over by the stone and remove the mediocre apron for now, don't want my ceremony being not awesome.

[Credibility in Doom: 5]

While the absence of the bone carver does make the old fellow a bit leery of your enthusiasm, he does seem to have a weakness for efficiency as you wave him and the three-eyed man over to the stone with their marmot prisoner. The three-eyed man seems more won over by the suggestion of nailing the person to the stone. Having thus won both of their respective approvals in one fell swoop, you begin preparations. A helpful ritual attendee runs off to get some nails.

You get naked to appropriately sub in for the bone carver, and a feeling of bloody elation comes over you. You ask for something sharp, and the three-eyed man hands you a wicked-looking knife with ever-swelling approval. Glad to see people getting into the spirit of things. You think some more people are coming from the keep, too! It's true what they say - human sacrifice holds the power to bring the whole world together.

Your enthusiasm wanes slightly when the helpful attendee returns and reports that there are no nails. Neither is there any rope, for that matter. Would it be sufficient if everyone just grabbed a limb and held fast, she asks. Or maybe someone should just get a hammer or mallet and break all of the creature's limbs, a large man leans in to suggest with delight. Make sure it can't run anywhere. Several others suggest increasingly more graphic solutions, trying to use this unique opportunity to one-up each other to its fullest.

Quote from: Toaster on January 07, 2016, 09:45:48 pm

He'll be fine. There's more important things to do.

Wander around, pestering people in trying to find out where I *really* am and where can I go to make my meeting.

[The Search For Sanity: 1]

You walk over to the girl and her armored friend. While you don't expect the girl to know anything in particular, the guard with her seems to be intently explaining or at least establishing something with a look of exasperation. Imagining yourself to be more reasonable, you walk up to her and ask where you really are. You have a meeting to attend. With Mr. Munderly.

The guard stares at you for a moment, as does the girl. You don't look familiar, the guard says, looking very tense as she attempts to be friendly. Where did you come from?

Quote from: AoshimaMichio on January 08, 2016, 12:00:28 am

Granite! God damn granite! Though granite dust isn't any better, really. Hmm. Okay, no dust. Dust is bad. Granite cubes. Not in my lungs either, because that's really bad. On the floor.

[Induced Lucidity: 2]

The floor? You feel the floor, you suppose. You can't see the floor. And is mixing the real world and wild imaginings a strictly good idea? You're not sure it'll be as easy to get rid of visions you base on actually existent things.

It's a moot point anyway, you guess. If there are any granite cubes on the floor, you sure can't see them, it being dark as Hel's rectum in here. The concept hangs in your mind uncertainly, verging uncomfortably on the knife-edge of surreality.

Spoiler: Status (click to show/hide)

AoshimaMichio · « **Reply #320 on:** January 08, 2016, 11:05:48 am »

"Hmm, guess that's enough of training for now. So let's talk some more. You said your... countenance rubs onlookers' minds in the wrong direction, right? How many people did become its victim? Did they die or...? Not to bring bad memories or anything, it's just that I have been brewing a theory of my own."

Toaster · « **Reply #321 on:** January 08, 2016, 03:43:58 pm »

"What? I live just outside Albany. What's the best way to get back there from here?"

Give what is surely the wrong answer to that question.

Dermonster · « **Reply #322 on:** January 08, 2016, 04:08:23 pm »

"'s not really my insides that's the problem we're trying to solve here. Do you have anything at all for burns?

Anything at all will do.

Hell if that doesnt work, maybe... Well, the Sun burnt me so can the Moon Heal me?

penguinofhonor · « **Reply #323 on:** January 08, 2016, 05:04:20 pm »

"Ah, you haven't heard of this kind of magic? I was hoping you had. Well, I can show you, but this is a dangerous word. I almost got myself hurt when I tried it out. How about we go outside so there's some space in case anything goes wrong? We have to if we're going to the well, anyway."

I lead the girl out of the minder tower.

Xantalos · « **Reply #324 on:** January 08, 2016, 05:20:40 pm »

Jack grins.

"I suggest a compromise! Why not have a mallet break each of its hands and feet, and a person shall hold onto each of those broken appendages to keep it paralyzed in pain while the ritual commences."

Now then, to prepare the guy a little bit.

Once the marmot's hands and feet have been appropriately broken - not smushed entirely, that'd make it too hard to hold on - or if it holds still while we wait for someone to go get a mallet or whatever to do that, take my three dead rats and tie them around its neck by their tails. Try to tie their tails together, in a sense. The crushed ones by its shoulders and the strangled one on its chest.

Then once all those preparations have been made ... begin the sacrifice.

Spoiler: Long elaboration on what I want to do; note, very detailed and probably kinda sadistic (click to show/hide)

I stand exultant at the head of the stone, knife in hand, looking down at the marmot below me squirming in pain with an ecstatic grin on my face. The excitement from everyone else is really getting to me.

"People! I know not your names! I know not your ages! I know not your occupations, likes, fears or loves! Nor in this moment do they have any bearing! For today, right now, you are not mere people, no. Today you are avengers! This marmot's kind" - I pause as someone likely corrects me by informing me it's a stoat - "Eh close enough. This stoat's kind besiege your home, your castle, Anglefork! They've risen up from their foul ghetto and eaten so many people you knew, and perhaps even loved! It's time now to take a little time to visit that tragedy back upon their kin! Today we harden our hearts to the sight of blood and gore, for it will be the milk and honey of the times to come! Today shall be but a new beginning! A beginning where we, the people of Anglefork, rise up and eradicate the stoat, which had brought such tragedy and sorrow upon us! This sacrifice before me shall be but a taste of the times to come!

Now, let there be BLOOD!"

I'm appropriately passionate during my speech, trying to whip the participants into a frenzy, and maybe attract some other people with the noise, who knows.

Then I get to work.

Make long shallow cuts along the stoat's biceps and calves. Let the blood pool for a few seconds, then slash it across the eyes. Make a shallow cut from the middle of its forehead down the bridge of its nose. Mutilate whatever genitals it possesses, then stab it low on its abdomen and cut open, then put the live rat inside its body cavity. Then go and carefully cut through its cheeks, trying to cut them out entirely. Pull out its intestines and wrap them around its throat, then take some other organ from around that area (leave the heart, that's for last) and put it inside the ruins of its mouth.

Then basically systematically mutilate and stab the poor stoat to death, doing my best to keep it alive as long as possible while doing so - not going after super vital organs immediately, etc. Make sure to hack apart every organ I can directly upon its chest so it's stained with (more) of its own blood. When I'm done with every other organ, rip its heart out and stab through it in the most dramatic fashion I can.

Then basically go nuts on the body, try to hack/stab/slash it into as many separate parts as is physically possible. Make the whole procedure really dramatic. Hopefully I should look like I walked into a blood and guts storm by the end of it.

Make sure to include the other people if I need to, such as getting the ribcage open. Maybe use that mallet to break it, etc.

Put any shinies I might find inside its body aside for later, if there are any.

Harry Baldman · « **Reply #325 on:** January 09, 2016, 05:43:48 am »

Quote from: AoshimaMichio on January 08, 2016, 11:05:48 am

"Hmm, guess that's enough of training for now. So let's talk some more. You said your... countenance rubs onlookers' minds in the wrong direction, right? How many people did become its victim? Did they die or...? Not to bring bad memories or anything, it's just that I have been brewing a theory of my own."

How many people indeed, your cellmate considers sadly. Her poor old husband, the lord of the castle. Her lady-in-waiting. The majordomo. Possibly a few others - it was hard to tell how many of them were affected from the day before, when it was not quite so pronounced. Not all of them died. The majordomo began to see only blue, and that was from but a glance. Her lady-in-waiting, her husband... oh dear.

She chokes up a little. What happened to them, one is better off not knowing. And if you want to know still, she is not sure she can explain it. The minders called it "alienation". An uncharacteristic understatement, but there are times when even minders are at a loss for words.

Quote from: Toaster on January 08, 2016, 03:43:58 pm

"What? I live just outside Albany. What's the best way to get back there from here?"

Give what is surely the wrong answer to that question.

Albany, the guard repeats. Albany, you confirm. She thinks carefully. Perhaps this was not the best way to phrase the question, she admits, clenching her jaw for a second. How did you get in here?

The girl tries to wave you off, saying that there's no point in the captain of her royal guard shaking down every random peasant that wanders up, impertinent though this may be of them. The guard thinks a moment and nods in agreement. After all, why mess around on her own when she can delegate?

The captain of the royal guard gives a stern shout, and soon enough a jolly fellow guard runs up. She points him toward you. To the processing area, she says. Standard investigative protocol. The way the guard chuckles does not fill you with confidence.

He puts a large and uncomfortably strong hand on your shoulder. Would you care to try and make this difficult, he asks with a glimmer in his eye.

Quote from: Dermonster on January 08, 2016, 04:08:23 pm

"'s not really my insides that's the problem we're trying to solve here. Do you have anything at all for burns?

Anything at all will do.

Hell if that doesnt work, maybe... Well, the Sun burnt me so can the Moon Heal me?

[Relaxed Medical Standards: 1]

She could just cut off the burnt parts, she says. So the... burns don't... spread? She thinks they work that way, right? It's what you do when frostbite turns your bits black. And fire's a lot like frost. So it all checks out. C'mon, nobody else lets her use the knife on them anymore! Just a little bit of excision. That's all she asks.

You consider the multitudinous ways in which you could say no, some sterner than others. But you have a better word for the occasion.

MOON

[Word: 3]

You stand triumphantly as absolutely nothing happens. Though feels like something is happening. Or should be happening. No sign of any activity, though. You look at the doctor. She seems to be wondering whether to interpret your word as consent, her fingers visibly itchy on her knife.

Quote from: penguinofhonor on January 08, 2016, 05:04:20 pm

"Ah, you haven't heard of this kind of magic? I was hoping you had. Well, I can show you, but this is a dangerous word. I almost got myself hurt when I tried it out. How about we go outside so there's some space in case anything goes wrong? We have to if we're going to the well, anyway."

I lead the girl out of the minder tower.

Pish posh, all the good stuff is dangerous. Handling these things intelligently and responsibly is what minding is all about. And she is a minder, so naturally she's as qualified as anyone you're likely to find. But have it your way. She follows you out as she puts on a practiced expression of intelligence and serene composure.

Coming out of the tower, she gets to put it to good use, because the first thing you observe is the holy circle. Quite a lot of people seem to have gathered there by now, and, well, it looks like they've got a stoatman (or perhaps just a misshapen regular person) they've decided to mutilate. At the center of it all is Mr. Daniels, stark naked and violently excited, the crowd whipped up into a veritable blood frenzy.

Said frenzy recedes a little when a knight interrupts the proceedings, seemingly about to ruin their good, clean fun.

Quote from: Xantalos on January 08, 2016, 05:20:40 pm

Jack grins.

"I suggest a compromise! Why not have a mallet break each of its hands and feet, and a person shall hold onto each of those broken appendages to keep it paralyzed in pain while the ritual commences."

Now then, to prepare the guy a little bit.

Once the marmot's hands and feet have been appropriately broken - not smushed entirely, that'd make it too hard to hold on - or if it holds still while we wait for someone to go get a mallet or whatever to do that, take my three dead rats and tie them around its neck by their tails. Try to tie their tails together, in a sense. The crushed ones by its shoulders and the strangled one on its chest.

Then once all those preparations have been made ... begin the sacrifice.

[Thirst for Blood: 5]

Your suggestion meets with hearty approval, and a mallet is procured in no time at all while you make a necklace of rats for it. The marmot person awakens at the first strike, held down by four people as the large fellow (apparently a mason) smashes one of its feet with it. The form of the strikes is admirable when one bears in mind his lack of training. The creature screams foul curses at first, then invokes the Great Leader between bouts of shrieking agony, its voice echoing throughout the courtyard and no doubt beyond as well. Most of the others do not seem to mind at all, observing with smiles on their faces.

When the mason gets to the third limb - the left hand - you can almost pinpoint the moment in which the marmot breaks. The hands are so much more sensitive, are they not? The creature gasps for air, courage going out of it completely. Its voice nearly gone from screaming, you hear it beg for death. The crowd emits a collective gasp. The three-eyed man looks intrigued, but stays silent. The old fellow raises an eyebrow, having remained largely disinterested throughout despite his close proximity.

"It speaks!" shouts a woman joyfully and laughs. The crowd cheers in unison, raising their arms. Just takes a little convincing, one man jeers from the back. Even a stoat can learn, another shouts. The ritual attendees guffaw. It is far, far too late for begging. The stoat's expression radiates perfection. Feelings of defeat, betrayal, loss. The back of your mind tingles as you contemplate its thoughts. The abandonment of all hope. What you are observing is true...

"Halt!" a voice interrupts your thoughts. You stumble a little, shaking off your little reverie. The mason has stopped, smiling at the new arrival. You look to see who it is.

It is a tall, grim and perhaps a little emaciated woman decked out in shining plate, her hand resting on a fine sword. The crowd glares at her like a pack of beasts, and the old guard steps forward, asking her to clarify the issue. She gives him a disdainful look - the stoat knows its place, she says. Grant it its request. She phrases it like an order, and you observe a flicker of doubt in the eyes of some of the congregation. The old man looks over at you, admitting that he would appreciate a greater degree of efficiency about this as well. Would you mind getting to the obliteration? This is a learning experience, not a torture session.

As he speaks, the knight draws her sword, beginning to stride toward you and the slab. She will do it. Move out of the way.

Spoiler: Status (click to show/hide)

penguinofhonor · « **Reply #326 on:** January 09, 2016, 07:06:04 am »

"From what I've seen, the meaning of these words depends on how you use them. Like regular words, I guess."

I look over to the crowd by the circle. "God, what are they doing over there? I hoped with that guy gone they'd stop... but one of my friends seems to have stepped in for him." I fume for a minute, imagining Mr. Daniels taking this even further. Eventually I have an idea and begin to focus on him. "You know what? You want to be barbaric, I'll show you barbaric. You already seem to thirst for blood but now you HUNGER for it."

AoshimaMichio · « **Reply #327 on:** January 09, 2016, 09:18:50 am »

"Oh. That... sucks." Leif is a bit loss for words too. His theory of a jealous queen and pretty lady is off by far.

"Well, let's talk about something not as sad. The stoat didn't know what electricity is. I'm kinda hoping here you would know."

Pay back for teachings of minders: teach her atomic theory and wonders of electricity.

Toaster · « **Reply #328 on:** January 09, 2016, 09:32:02 am »

Oh dear. "Um... well, I wouldn't want to cause trouble for the local police. Okay, sure? Maybe you'll know how I can get home. Which is all I want!"

Come quietly. Maybe this guard knows how to get there.

Dermonster · « **Reply #329 on:** January 09, 2016, 10:32:24 am »

"I see.."

Right, time to leave. If she tries anything, introduce her to my friend the moon rock at high velocities.

Also, go see if I can get her removed for incompetence. I am the minister of moronic affairs!

Then... maybe theres a better healer in the town proper?

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Author Topic: Our Salvation: It Is Written (Read 262501 times)

penguinofhonor

Re: Our Salvation: Playing With Fire

Xantalos

Re: Our Salvation: Playing With Fire

Toaster

Re: Our Salvation: Playing With Fire

AoshimaMichio

Re: Our Salvation: Playing With Fire

Harry Baldman

Re: Our Salvation: Playing With Fire

AoshimaMichio

Re: Our Salvation: Playing With Fire

Toaster

Re: Our Salvation: Playing With Fire

Dermonster

Re: Our Salvation: Playing With Fire

penguinofhonor

Re: Our Salvation: Playing With Fire

Xantalos

Re: Our Salvation: Playing With Fire

Harry Baldman

Re: Our Salvation: Playing With Fire

penguinofhonor

Re: Our Salvation: Playing With Fire

AoshimaMichio

Re: Our Salvation: Playing With Fire

Toaster

Re: Our Salvation: Playing With Fire

Dermonster

Re: Our Salvation: Playing With Fire