gideonpepys
Pay no attention to that man behind the curtain.
71 - The Truth Will Out
The dust had settled on the fight with the wights. Malthusius spotted further movement down the far end of the great hall – possibly more wights withdrawing to the next chamber – and kept an eye on things while the group caught its breath, rested up and explored.
This huge vaulted hall was dominated by what at first glance appeared to be an enormous iron golem, coated with the grime of centuries. Uru investigated and, clambering up onto it, discovered that it was in fact an armoured statue. Beneath the thick steel plating was a stone body.
Ottavia began scraping layers of filth of the plinth the great construct stood upon, for she had spied the depressions of carved words. In ancient Crissilyiri (some words worn away) “Something something final/last vigil something Maur Granatha”.
Intrigued, Malthusius wracked his brain and recalled a reference to a great stone titan of the same name, who – bested and spared by Triegenes – had sworn to serve him and his cause in the fight against the Demonocracy 1000 years ago. But the tale was obscure and the details not known to him, or to Ottavia, or Xambria.
This was not a statue after all…
Matunaaga stopped aiming his rifle at the far door and sat down to meditate: to access the akashic memory of his people and see what he could learn that way.
Uru crawled down the front of the static titan, to a depression in his chest. Clearing away fronds of algae he found a great hole ripped in his chest-plate, and beneath, a massive crater where the titan’s heart should be. It was big enough for Uru to climb inside, and he did so.
Malthusius closed his eyes and touched the armour of Maur Granatha, receiving two visions for his pains: the great titan planting his feet and swearing an oath to guard the vault - an overwhelming sensation of valor and loyalty; then a much more recent image of a figure, clad in the fashion of a clergy godhand, eyes crazed, raining an incredibly powerful blow against the dormant titan and tearing out his heart…
He also learned that a vestige of sentience remained, not in the titan himself, but in his sword: a twelve-foot long Holy Avenger!
At that very moment, Matunaaga gave a cry of agony and began to spasm uncontrollably. Rumdoom and Korrigan dashed to hold him down, and each was assailed by a thousand screams, like nails down a chalkboard in the classroom of their minds (ahem…). But they held on, restraining their comrade until his jerking subsided.
Matunaaga’s eyes fluttered open. “Cast out,” he muttered. “The ancestors cast me out. I am tainted. I must confess…”
He told them of his temptation by Ashima-Shimtu, but no infernal fires wracked him, and the Voice of Island was silent. Nonetheless, he passed into a torpor, such was the affliction he had suffered.
Malthusius and Leon between them diagnosed an enormous psychic assault, similar to the blood of a body attacking a disease, or a surgeon cutting out a tumour. Perhaps these ancestors had known of, feared, and been hostile to demons? So the possessed or demon-bound could not access their store of knowledge…
(Ottavia spoke to Malthusius telepathically. She looked withdrawn, frightened even, but the others were too focused on Matunaaga to notice. “I hear the whispered warnings of angels,” she said. “There is temptation here. We should proceed no further into this vault.”)
Malthusius did not relay Ottavia’s words to the others, but they confirmed a suspicion he had carried since Leon first confessed his own deal with the Voice of the Island. Back then, Malthusius had asked if anyone else had been similarly tempted, and a deafening silence had been the response. But fear of the same hellfire suffered by Leon (and without the tiefling’s ability to resist it) had perhaps sealed others’ lips as they had sealed his own.
Now Malthusius confessed that he had been offered true immortality – Godhood – and had turned it down. No hellfire: he had not been bound, and could not be punished. He demanded the truth from Uru and Korrigan.
Uru had hidden himself as soon as Matunaaga started screaming. He did not respond, until Malthusius reminded him that he was communicating telepathically and knew very well that he could hear. Uru, still hidden in the hole in Maur Granatha’s heart, denied any deal with the devil. Malthusius shook his head sadly, as he knew that Uru was lying.
Korrigan, for his part refused to answer the question.
Malthusius said that his earlier misgivings about proceeding were now confirmed beyond doubt. He did not think it wise to approach a demon that some of the group had already agreed to serve. He commended Matunaaga for his confession, allowed that Leon had been in dire straits when he made his bargain, and repeated his demand that Uru and Korrigan confess. He did not appear to be entirely surprised that Uru had been tempted, but was clearly distressed that Korrigan might very well have been. In fact, of all the unit members present in the vault, only he – Malthusius had turned the demon down – a fact that had left him visibly shaken.
Uru jumped down from the titan, stepped up to Korrigan’s side and accused Malthusius of mutiny. He called Rumdoom to their side to defend them.
Rumdoom was shocked. He took a step closer to Malthusius. “I leave you alone for a day…” he muttered.
Ottavia took a step away from the group too.
A debate raged. Korrigan refused to answer any questions on the subject, and also refused to accept a direct link between the existence (or otherwise) of an agreement to serve Ashima-Shimtu, and the need to press further in order to escape the vault. The exigencies of the mission, and the free offer of help from whatever creature lay at the heart of this structure, had to be pursued come what may.
Malthusius said that the only thing this demon could want was its freedom, and warned that they could end up releasing something far worse than the Obscurati upon the world.
Rumdoom was less vocal but equally disappointed, particularly with Korrigan. He fumed silently and backed Malthusius up with furious nods.
(It is worth noting in retrospect that Leon managed to side with neither group; nor did he cast any aspertions or have any cast his way.)
An impasse was reached. Whether through fear of hellfire, sheer desperation to cling to whatever deal he had made, shame or plain stubbornness, Korrigan would not crack. He determined to go on, and asked who was with him.
All of the unit agreed that they needed to press on, regardless of these revelations, and they would stand by their tarnished leader for the time being. Ottavia would remain behind to watch over the shallow-breathing but stable Maatunaaga.
In disgust, Malthusius removed the telepathic headband and threw it back to Ottavia, muttering darkly that no one wanted to hear what he was thinking right now (and besides, it would be useful for Ottavia to be able to warn them if anything happened).
Putting their differences aside for a time, the unit did what they do best: Uru scouted out the next chamber and found more wights; the unit co-ordinated their attack and dropped their undead foes very quickly.
During the combat a trap was triggered. It warded a central lectern with radiant power. Malthusius was the only unit member able to approach, and he disabled the magical ward with the words of power he read there.
On the lectern he found the only intact book that remained in this huge library: pyres of burned, torn and rotten papyrus were scattered throughout the room. Uru explored every shelf, while Malthusius studied the book in front of him. Uru found only a single scroll that had slipped down the back of a stone shelf, but it was indicative of the kinds of magic that was once stored here: Leon said it was a spell that required the sacrifice of a child, and bequeathed the power to inflict a fatal tumour on a chosen target. He handed this over to Malthusius.
Rumdoom found a concealed door in the shelves at the far side of the room that gave access to the rest of the vault.
The book Malthusius held was a history of the vault. It detailed the construction, contents, and means to pass through the structure, boasting that only the pure of heart – one capable of wielding this book (and therefore a clergy worshipper), the sword of Maur Granatha (a powerful paladin) and the Necklace of St Augustyn (the nature and location of which was unknown) could reach and parley with Ashima-Shimtu. The outer wards (now broken from within) could only be opened by clergy godhands.
Leon enlisted the help of the others in clearing the floor to reveal what he had spotted: that the bronze floor featured an engraved schematic of the vault.
According to this map they had explored just two chambers out of nine: the Vault Entrance and Library of Heretical Texts. (The huge chamber of Maur Ganatha was not labelled, and was represented by a mere line connecting the two explored chambers.)
The rest of the vault contained Accursed Items, Afflicted Innocents, Unholy Arms & Armour, Blasphemous Artwork, Damned Souls, Beasts of the Infernal Horde and finally – at its centre - The Prison of Ashima-Shimtu, Lady of the Forked Tongue, Last of the High Fiends, Seneschal of the Demonocracy, Keeper of the Secret Which Must Not Be Lost.
Needless to say, this last bit of information reopened their debate. At length, they agreed to press on despite Malthusius’ protestations.
Two narrow corridors (forming one half of a diamond-shaped network of connecting passages) led from the concealed door. According to the book (which Malthusius had read and replaced ont he warded lectern) these corridors were lined with the bones of clergy priests who had been martyred in the struggled against the Demonocracy.
As they made their way along the corridor, a radiant feathered being – whiter than white, like layer upon layer of unfurling wings – appeared at the far end. Malthusius addressed it and it faded from view. He had heard of such holy apparitions before, in tales from the earliest days of the church: angels that offered absolution. What was it doing here?
They made their way to the chamber of Accursed Items – a high, vaulted chamber of the same dimensions as the entrance and the library – and found that it had been extensively looted. They searched and found nothing but broken cases and empty plinths. (Actually, Uru found a stoppered bottle, but he liked the look of it, and it was duly and secretly purloined so as not to vex Malthuius any further.)
From they found another hall, equal in size to the hall of Maur Granatha, but entirely empty. Moving through it, they were confronted by two more of the radiant apparitions, which this time appeared in midair. Malthusius held his tongue and Uru filled the silence, approaching the creature and hailing it. The angel lowered itself to tower over the darkling, and unfolded its layers of wings. Uru stepped inside, and the angel closed over him and vanished. The second angel vanished too. Malthusius shot a sidelong and accusatory glance at Korrigan, who was more concerned about Uru’s fate.
(Uru found himself in a pure white space. He could not see himself, his hands or limbs – it seemed as if his consciously was suspended in pure brightness. He was made aware – not through words, he simply felt the meaning – that a demon’s bargains were always empty. What was offered could often be achieved without the bargain. Uru understood immediately. He had been rainmade!)
When Uru did not reappear, the others moved on and found the wards over the chamber of Afflicted Innocents were intact. Malthusius knew that to open it risked the release of infernal diseases long banished from the world. They decided to leave it alone, and turned back to find the angelic apparition waiting behind them. It unfurled and Uru stepped out. He announced that the fey had been making bargains since the dawn of creation, but declared that he had chosen to renounce his pact with Ashima-Shimtu. Uru was not afflicted with hellfire as Leon had been, and again the Voice of the Island did not speak. Malthusius stepped forward and shook Uru’s hand.
As they headed back towards the bone-lined passageways, Uru fell in alongside Korrigan, and told him what he had learned. Korrigan kept his counsel once again.
They arrived at the chamber of Damned Souls. It was empty. On the far side a pair of double doors led to the chamber of Beasts; just a few paces away, another narrow passage led back towards the chamber of Blasphemous Artwork. Between this and the passage they had just taken, a set of closed double doors led (according to the schematic) to the prison of Ashima-Shimtu.
Before Malthusius could properly examine it, the unit became aware of a presence in the room. A spirit coalesced and introduced itself as Radmus of Parnathor. The ghost was warm and friendly and relieved to see the unit. It told them it was an architect of this prison, brought here and abandoned by early tomb robbers, and went on to tell them that the Necklace of Saint Augustine could be found in the chamber of Beasts behind him. It spoke of others that had come to parley with the demon over the years.
In the first instance, Malthusius deemed the ghost trustworthy, but he cast his mind back over his many lifetimes for any indication that it might be misleading them. A twinge of doubt caused him to challenge the ghost, and it darkened immediately, cursed him and vanished.
(Mechanical note: my Lying Ghost had a bluff bonus of +20, but I rolled a 1. Malthusius fared poorly on his insight check too, scoring just 20. But then he used Memory of a Thousand Lifetimes and realised that the ghost was being deceitful. Just!)
The returned their attention to the door of the prison, and soon established that the most powerful wards had been broken. No longer would the book, the sword and the necklace be required. But the freely sacrificed essence of a clergy worshipper would still be necessary: Malthusius would have to place his hand against a recess at the centre of the portal and allow some of his life-force to be drained.
At this moment he turned to Korrigan and said that he would not do so – would not grant the unit access to the chamber beyond – whilst ever he suspected that members of the group were still beholden in any way, shape or form to Ashima- Shimtu. He begged Korrigan, as his old friend and confidante, to both confess and renounce any such demonic bargain.
Following a moment of silent decision-making, Korrigan did just that. His stoney form then appeared to wrack and bulge, as if subjected to inner fires, like the slow-flowing slopes of some underwater volcano. But the hellfire did not harm him, instead the silver filigree over his face and limbs glowed with white heat and his eyes burned with great intensity.
The moment passed. Korrigan regained control of his form once again.
Businesslike, as if nothing had happened, the group decided to go fetch Matunaaga and Ottavia before entering the prison. But on the way, Malthusius smiled to himself, pleased to have won back his friend from the very brink.
The dust had settled on the fight with the wights. Malthusius spotted further movement down the far end of the great hall – possibly more wights withdrawing to the next chamber – and kept an eye on things while the group caught its breath, rested up and explored.
This huge vaulted hall was dominated by what at first glance appeared to be an enormous iron golem, coated with the grime of centuries. Uru investigated and, clambering up onto it, discovered that it was in fact an armoured statue. Beneath the thick steel plating was a stone body.
Ottavia began scraping layers of filth of the plinth the great construct stood upon, for she had spied the depressions of carved words. In ancient Crissilyiri (some words worn away) “Something something final/last vigil something Maur Granatha”.
Intrigued, Malthusius wracked his brain and recalled a reference to a great stone titan of the same name, who – bested and spared by Triegenes – had sworn to serve him and his cause in the fight against the Demonocracy 1000 years ago. But the tale was obscure and the details not known to him, or to Ottavia, or Xambria.
This was not a statue after all…
Matunaaga stopped aiming his rifle at the far door and sat down to meditate: to access the akashic memory of his people and see what he could learn that way.
Uru crawled down the front of the static titan, to a depression in his chest. Clearing away fronds of algae he found a great hole ripped in his chest-plate, and beneath, a massive crater where the titan’s heart should be. It was big enough for Uru to climb inside, and he did so.
Malthusius closed his eyes and touched the armour of Maur Granatha, receiving two visions for his pains: the great titan planting his feet and swearing an oath to guard the vault - an overwhelming sensation of valor and loyalty; then a much more recent image of a figure, clad in the fashion of a clergy godhand, eyes crazed, raining an incredibly powerful blow against the dormant titan and tearing out his heart…
He also learned that a vestige of sentience remained, not in the titan himself, but in his sword: a twelve-foot long Holy Avenger!
At that very moment, Matunaaga gave a cry of agony and began to spasm uncontrollably. Rumdoom and Korrigan dashed to hold him down, and each was assailed by a thousand screams, like nails down a chalkboard in the classroom of their minds (ahem…). But they held on, restraining their comrade until his jerking subsided.
Matunaaga’s eyes fluttered open. “Cast out,” he muttered. “The ancestors cast me out. I am tainted. I must confess…”
He told them of his temptation by Ashima-Shimtu, but no infernal fires wracked him, and the Voice of Island was silent. Nonetheless, he passed into a torpor, such was the affliction he had suffered.
Malthusius and Leon between them diagnosed an enormous psychic assault, similar to the blood of a body attacking a disease, or a surgeon cutting out a tumour. Perhaps these ancestors had known of, feared, and been hostile to demons? So the possessed or demon-bound could not access their store of knowledge…
(Ottavia spoke to Malthusius telepathically. She looked withdrawn, frightened even, but the others were too focused on Matunaaga to notice. “I hear the whispered warnings of angels,” she said. “There is temptation here. We should proceed no further into this vault.”)
Malthusius did not relay Ottavia’s words to the others, but they confirmed a suspicion he had carried since Leon first confessed his own deal with the Voice of the Island. Back then, Malthusius had asked if anyone else had been similarly tempted, and a deafening silence had been the response. But fear of the same hellfire suffered by Leon (and without the tiefling’s ability to resist it) had perhaps sealed others’ lips as they had sealed his own.
Now Malthusius confessed that he had been offered true immortality – Godhood – and had turned it down. No hellfire: he had not been bound, and could not be punished. He demanded the truth from Uru and Korrigan.
Uru had hidden himself as soon as Matunaaga started screaming. He did not respond, until Malthusius reminded him that he was communicating telepathically and knew very well that he could hear. Uru, still hidden in the hole in Maur Granatha’s heart, denied any deal with the devil. Malthusius shook his head sadly, as he knew that Uru was lying.
Korrigan, for his part refused to answer the question.
Malthusius said that his earlier misgivings about proceeding were now confirmed beyond doubt. He did not think it wise to approach a demon that some of the group had already agreed to serve. He commended Matunaaga for his confession, allowed that Leon had been in dire straits when he made his bargain, and repeated his demand that Uru and Korrigan confess. He did not appear to be entirely surprised that Uru had been tempted, but was clearly distressed that Korrigan might very well have been. In fact, of all the unit members present in the vault, only he – Malthusius had turned the demon down – a fact that had left him visibly shaken.
Uru jumped down from the titan, stepped up to Korrigan’s side and accused Malthusius of mutiny. He called Rumdoom to their side to defend them.
Rumdoom was shocked. He took a step closer to Malthusius. “I leave you alone for a day…” he muttered.
Ottavia took a step away from the group too.
A debate raged. Korrigan refused to answer any questions on the subject, and also refused to accept a direct link between the existence (or otherwise) of an agreement to serve Ashima-Shimtu, and the need to press further in order to escape the vault. The exigencies of the mission, and the free offer of help from whatever creature lay at the heart of this structure, had to be pursued come what may.
Malthusius said that the only thing this demon could want was its freedom, and warned that they could end up releasing something far worse than the Obscurati upon the world.
Rumdoom was less vocal but equally disappointed, particularly with Korrigan. He fumed silently and backed Malthusius up with furious nods.
(It is worth noting in retrospect that Leon managed to side with neither group; nor did he cast any aspertions or have any cast his way.)
An impasse was reached. Whether through fear of hellfire, sheer desperation to cling to whatever deal he had made, shame or plain stubbornness, Korrigan would not crack. He determined to go on, and asked who was with him.
All of the unit agreed that they needed to press on, regardless of these revelations, and they would stand by their tarnished leader for the time being. Ottavia would remain behind to watch over the shallow-breathing but stable Maatunaaga.
In disgust, Malthusius removed the telepathic headband and threw it back to Ottavia, muttering darkly that no one wanted to hear what he was thinking right now (and besides, it would be useful for Ottavia to be able to warn them if anything happened).
Putting their differences aside for a time, the unit did what they do best: Uru scouted out the next chamber and found more wights; the unit co-ordinated their attack and dropped their undead foes very quickly.
During the combat a trap was triggered. It warded a central lectern with radiant power. Malthusius was the only unit member able to approach, and he disabled the magical ward with the words of power he read there.
On the lectern he found the only intact book that remained in this huge library: pyres of burned, torn and rotten papyrus were scattered throughout the room. Uru explored every shelf, while Malthusius studied the book in front of him. Uru found only a single scroll that had slipped down the back of a stone shelf, but it was indicative of the kinds of magic that was once stored here: Leon said it was a spell that required the sacrifice of a child, and bequeathed the power to inflict a fatal tumour on a chosen target. He handed this over to Malthusius.
Rumdoom found a concealed door in the shelves at the far side of the room that gave access to the rest of the vault.
The book Malthusius held was a history of the vault. It detailed the construction, contents, and means to pass through the structure, boasting that only the pure of heart – one capable of wielding this book (and therefore a clergy worshipper), the sword of Maur Granatha (a powerful paladin) and the Necklace of St Augustyn (the nature and location of which was unknown) could reach and parley with Ashima-Shimtu. The outer wards (now broken from within) could only be opened by clergy godhands.
Leon enlisted the help of the others in clearing the floor to reveal what he had spotted: that the bronze floor featured an engraved schematic of the vault.
According to this map they had explored just two chambers out of nine: the Vault Entrance and Library of Heretical Texts. (The huge chamber of Maur Ganatha was not labelled, and was represented by a mere line connecting the two explored chambers.)
The rest of the vault contained Accursed Items, Afflicted Innocents, Unholy Arms & Armour, Blasphemous Artwork, Damned Souls, Beasts of the Infernal Horde and finally – at its centre - The Prison of Ashima-Shimtu, Lady of the Forked Tongue, Last of the High Fiends, Seneschal of the Demonocracy, Keeper of the Secret Which Must Not Be Lost.
Needless to say, this last bit of information reopened their debate. At length, they agreed to press on despite Malthusius’ protestations.
Two narrow corridors (forming one half of a diamond-shaped network of connecting passages) led from the concealed door. According to the book (which Malthusius had read and replaced ont he warded lectern) these corridors were lined with the bones of clergy priests who had been martyred in the struggled against the Demonocracy.
As they made their way along the corridor, a radiant feathered being – whiter than white, like layer upon layer of unfurling wings – appeared at the far end. Malthusius addressed it and it faded from view. He had heard of such holy apparitions before, in tales from the earliest days of the church: angels that offered absolution. What was it doing here?
They made their way to the chamber of Accursed Items – a high, vaulted chamber of the same dimensions as the entrance and the library – and found that it had been extensively looted. They searched and found nothing but broken cases and empty plinths. (Actually, Uru found a stoppered bottle, but he liked the look of it, and it was duly and secretly purloined so as not to vex Malthuius any further.)
From they found another hall, equal in size to the hall of Maur Granatha, but entirely empty. Moving through it, they were confronted by two more of the radiant apparitions, which this time appeared in midair. Malthusius held his tongue and Uru filled the silence, approaching the creature and hailing it. The angel lowered itself to tower over the darkling, and unfolded its layers of wings. Uru stepped inside, and the angel closed over him and vanished. The second angel vanished too. Malthusius shot a sidelong and accusatory glance at Korrigan, who was more concerned about Uru’s fate.
(Uru found himself in a pure white space. He could not see himself, his hands or limbs – it seemed as if his consciously was suspended in pure brightness. He was made aware – not through words, he simply felt the meaning – that a demon’s bargains were always empty. What was offered could often be achieved without the bargain. Uru understood immediately. He had been rainmade!)
When Uru did not reappear, the others moved on and found the wards over the chamber of Afflicted Innocents were intact. Malthusius knew that to open it risked the release of infernal diseases long banished from the world. They decided to leave it alone, and turned back to find the angelic apparition waiting behind them. It unfurled and Uru stepped out. He announced that the fey had been making bargains since the dawn of creation, but declared that he had chosen to renounce his pact with Ashima-Shimtu. Uru was not afflicted with hellfire as Leon had been, and again the Voice of the Island did not speak. Malthusius stepped forward and shook Uru’s hand.
As they headed back towards the bone-lined passageways, Uru fell in alongside Korrigan, and told him what he had learned. Korrigan kept his counsel once again.
They arrived at the chamber of Damned Souls. It was empty. On the far side a pair of double doors led to the chamber of Beasts; just a few paces away, another narrow passage led back towards the chamber of Blasphemous Artwork. Between this and the passage they had just taken, a set of closed double doors led (according to the schematic) to the prison of Ashima-Shimtu.
Before Malthusius could properly examine it, the unit became aware of a presence in the room. A spirit coalesced and introduced itself as Radmus of Parnathor. The ghost was warm and friendly and relieved to see the unit. It told them it was an architect of this prison, brought here and abandoned by early tomb robbers, and went on to tell them that the Necklace of Saint Augustine could be found in the chamber of Beasts behind him. It spoke of others that had come to parley with the demon over the years.
In the first instance, Malthusius deemed the ghost trustworthy, but he cast his mind back over his many lifetimes for any indication that it might be misleading them. A twinge of doubt caused him to challenge the ghost, and it darkened immediately, cursed him and vanished.
(Mechanical note: my Lying Ghost had a bluff bonus of +20, but I rolled a 1. Malthusius fared poorly on his insight check too, scoring just 20. But then he used Memory of a Thousand Lifetimes and realised that the ghost was being deceitful. Just!)
The returned their attention to the door of the prison, and soon established that the most powerful wards had been broken. No longer would the book, the sword and the necklace be required. But the freely sacrificed essence of a clergy worshipper would still be necessary: Malthusius would have to place his hand against a recess at the centre of the portal and allow some of his life-force to be drained.
At this moment he turned to Korrigan and said that he would not do so – would not grant the unit access to the chamber beyond – whilst ever he suspected that members of the group were still beholden in any way, shape or form to Ashima- Shimtu. He begged Korrigan, as his old friend and confidante, to both confess and renounce any such demonic bargain.
Following a moment of silent decision-making, Korrigan did just that. His stoney form then appeared to wrack and bulge, as if subjected to inner fires, like the slow-flowing slopes of some underwater volcano. But the hellfire did not harm him, instead the silver filigree over his face and limbs glowed with white heat and his eyes burned with great intensity.
The moment passed. Korrigan regained control of his form once again.
Businesslike, as if nothing had happened, the group decided to go fetch Matunaaga and Ottavia before entering the prison. But on the way, Malthusius smiled to himself, pleased to have won back his friend from the very brink.
