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The Realms of Enlightenment: The Grey Companions
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<blockquote data-quote="Jon Potter" data-source="post: 428153" data-attributes="member: 2323"><p><strong>[PLAIN][Realms #186] No Pie for You![/PLAIN]</strong></p><p></p><p>"If the pies are fit to herald a king, perhaps that refers to the birth," Kirnoth said excitedly.</p><p>"I was thinking the same thing," Finian agreed.</p><p></p><p>Ruze let out an expansive sigh and wiped his forehead with the back of his hand. "That suggests that the pies were not always fouled with human meat," he said. "Maybe just now to herald in She Who is Coming. That makes me feel better."</p><p></p><p>"Let's cut open one of these pies with the special mark and see what is in them," Finian suggested, cocking his thumb toward the warming stove behind the counter.</p><p></p><p>"Special mark?" Ruze asked, looking toward the covered pies.</p><p></p><p>Before Finian could respond, the man on the ground cleared his throat and asked in a very small voice, "Did ye jus' say 'human meat'?"</p><p></p><p>The Battleguard turned and scowled down at him. "Yes," Ruze said. "That's what's in Mom's special pies."</p><p></p><p>The man chuckled nervously. "Mom?" he snorted skeptically. "Are ye daft?"</p><p></p><p>"Maybe we should show our friend the 'body room'?" Draelond suggested. "Let him see first hand that he's been spreading unspeakable evil."</p><p></p><p>"Evil?" The man sounded thoroughly confused. "We're talkin' 'bout pies 'ere, right?"</p><p></p><p>"On your feet," Ledare commanded and the man started to rise. "We'll show you what Mom's been cooking up in her kitchen."</p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p>"This is the secret ingredient fit for a king!" Kirnoth told him as the group ushered him into the abattoir.</p><p></p><p>At the sight of the blood on the walls the man began to cry. When he saw the bodies he screamed and tried to claw his way out of the room directly through Finian and Ruze. Draelond stepped forward and laid hands on him, restraining him easily. "P-p-please!" the man sobbed.</p><p></p><p>"We're the good guys here and we have no intention of killing you," Kirnoth told him.</p><p></p><p>"Yes. We are working for the king," Finian added, pointing at the fat corpse lying off to the side. "We caught Nunzio decapitating a lady that is why we killed him." </p><p></p><p>"Oh, dear gods!" the man cried out. He seemed near to the breaking point - as if his sanity was hanging on by the narrowest of margins.</p><p></p><p>"But in order to stop mother, we obviously can't let you leave," Kirnoth added and Ledare gave him a disapproving look.</p><p></p><p>"What can we do with him here?" she asked the elf.</p><p></p><p>"We can tie him up," Kirnoth suggested. "Surely there is some rope or twine or something in the shoppe to tie him up with. And then we should then attempt to do the same with new vendors as they arrive for meat pies."</p><p></p><p>The Janissary shook her head. "It would take too much to tie up all the prospective vendors," she said.</p><p></p><p>"If we let him go he can go tell all of the meat pies salesmen to return the pies," Finian suggested. "Or, perhaps he could tell us where all of the pie vendors were and we could send Kirnoth to buy them all, so no one else would eat them."</p><p></p><p>"Why me?" the elf asked with a tone of annoyance.</p><p></p><p>"Well, you said you can't cast any more spells today so you'll want to avoid combat," the Archer explained.</p><p></p><p>"I think it would be almost impossible for Kirnoth to go out and buy up all the remaining pies," Ledare said. "But you're right; he may not do much good with just his darts here."</p><p></p><p>Kirnoth just glowered until Draelond spoke up. "I've not the experience of all of you," the warrior said, turning to face the group, "but tracking down the rest of these vendors in the City during the Festival seems pointless. I think we'd best be served to make sure that we stop the damage at the source and see to it that none of these carts get refilled. 'Mom' and the rest of her family are bound to return soon enough, and we'd be wrong if we didn't put an end to all of this as soon as possible."</p><p></p><p>"I agree with Draelond," Ruze said. "I think we should stay here as he suggests and kill the source. It should be enough to just tell this wretch to stop selling pies."</p><p></p><p>"Oh, yes! Yes!" the man said clasping his hands together and pleading. "Please jus' lemme go!"</p><p>Ledare looked dubious but Finian snapped his fingers to draw the man's attention.</p><p></p><p>"I want descriptions of all Mom's 'boys'," the Archer demanded and the man began giving a detailed description. From his words, the others were able to determine that one of Mom's sons was Lenicius, the skaven that Ledare and Kirnoth had dispatched at Selejian's studio. Another was Rudivan, the wererat that Finian's arrows had done in in the junction room below. It seemed likely that the other two had been the other two rat men that they had fought below, although none of the Companions had actually seen either of them in human form.</p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p>Upstairs again, Ledare scooped up the bulging pouch of coins and handed it to the man. "Take this money you have made and do not sell any more meat pies ever," Ledare instructed. "The same goes for Simon."</p><p></p><p>The man nodded his tear-streaked face and clutched the purse in trembling hands.</p><p></p><p>Ledare gestured toward Draelond and added, "If he runs into you again he won't be as diplomatic as we are today. And if you return to this place without the money, Mother will certainly have it in for you."</p><p></p><p>"I'm never returnin' to this twice-cursed place," the man spat on the floor. "Cyr, herself ain't strong enough to drag me back 'ere!"</p><p></p><p>Satisfied that he was telling them the truth, they let him out and barred the doors behind him.</p><p></p><p>"Now what?" Finian asked and Ruze nodded toward the covered dishes behind the counter.</p><p></p><p>"You mentioned something about pies with symbols," he prompted and Finian quickly gathered them up, placing the pies on the counter in a row. One-by-one, Ruze uncovered them and scowled at the various symbols. All at once, the cleric hefted his warhammer and smashed the first pie. Brown gravy and bits of shredded meat sprayed in all directions from the sundered crust.</p><p></p><p>"Shaharizod, this place is an abomination!" he wailed as he smashed each of the pies into bits and the others took cover to avoid the spattering pastry. "It seems I have walked into the horrors of chaos. Shaharizod, grant me your light to cleanse the taint." Huffing from his rush of adrenaline, he glared at the others.</p><p></p><p>"So are you going to tell us what those symbols meant?" Finian asked, flicking a bit of piecrust off his studded leather jerkin.</p><p></p><p>In reply Ruze said, "I will continue my blessings up here in an attempt to cleanse the taint."</p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p>While Ruze, Kirnoth and Ledare remained above, Finian and Draelond went down to try recovering the three chests. Using Finian's slippers of Spider Climbing, it was a simple matter to walk down the wall and fetch them. There was no sign of any further opposition from the tunnels surrounding the junction chamber and the numerous rat and three rat-man corpses were completely inert.</p><p></p><p>All three chests were locked and all showed signs of having been scratched at in an effort to open them. Someone had worked on the brass fittings with claws or the point of a knife, and the wood itself was gouged around the hinges and locks. One of the chests was noticeably lighter than the other two and only one of the heavy ones clinked with the sound of coins.</p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p>Ruze chanted and traced symbols in the air as he paced the floor of the Pie Shoppe. Ledare and Kirnoth watched in silence. The cleric had just finished his cleansing when something heavy thudded against the front doors. An instant later it came again accompanied by the sound of breaking wood.</p><p></p><p>A voice cried out from the street, "By order of the Watch and in the King's name, this shoppe is declared criminal! Surrender yourselves immediately!"</p><p></p><p>The sound of a ram striking the doors came again and the bar that secured them made a splintering sound. It seemed unlikely that the doors would resist the battering for much longer.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Jon Potter, post: 428153, member: 2323"] [b][PLAIN][Realms #186] No Pie for You![/PLAIN][/b] "If the pies are fit to herald a king, perhaps that refers to the birth," Kirnoth said excitedly. "I was thinking the same thing," Finian agreed. Ruze let out an expansive sigh and wiped his forehead with the back of his hand. "That suggests that the pies were not always fouled with human meat," he said. "Maybe just now to herald in She Who is Coming. That makes me feel better." "Let's cut open one of these pies with the special mark and see what is in them," Finian suggested, cocking his thumb toward the warming stove behind the counter. "Special mark?" Ruze asked, looking toward the covered pies. Before Finian could respond, the man on the ground cleared his throat and asked in a very small voice, "Did ye jus' say 'human meat'?" The Battleguard turned and scowled down at him. "Yes," Ruze said. "That's what's in Mom's special pies." The man chuckled nervously. "Mom?" he snorted skeptically. "Are ye daft?" "Maybe we should show our friend the 'body room'?" Draelond suggested. "Let him see first hand that he's been spreading unspeakable evil." "Evil?" The man sounded thoroughly confused. "We're talkin' 'bout pies 'ere, right?" "On your feet," Ledare commanded and the man started to rise. "We'll show you what Mom's been cooking up in her kitchen." "This is the secret ingredient fit for a king!" Kirnoth told him as the group ushered him into the abattoir. At the sight of the blood on the walls the man began to cry. When he saw the bodies he screamed and tried to claw his way out of the room directly through Finian and Ruze. Draelond stepped forward and laid hands on him, restraining him easily. "P-p-please!" the man sobbed. "We're the good guys here and we have no intention of killing you," Kirnoth told him. "Yes. We are working for the king," Finian added, pointing at the fat corpse lying off to the side. "We caught Nunzio decapitating a lady that is why we killed him." "Oh, dear gods!" the man cried out. He seemed near to the breaking point - as if his sanity was hanging on by the narrowest of margins. "But in order to stop mother, we obviously can't let you leave," Kirnoth added and Ledare gave him a disapproving look. "What can we do with him here?" she asked the elf. "We can tie him up," Kirnoth suggested. "Surely there is some rope or twine or something in the shoppe to tie him up with. And then we should then attempt to do the same with new vendors as they arrive for meat pies." The Janissary shook her head. "It would take too much to tie up all the prospective vendors," she said. "If we let him go he can go tell all of the meat pies salesmen to return the pies," Finian suggested. "Or, perhaps he could tell us where all of the pie vendors were and we could send Kirnoth to buy them all, so no one else would eat them." "Why me?" the elf asked with a tone of annoyance. "Well, you said you can't cast any more spells today so you'll want to avoid combat," the Archer explained. "I think it would be almost impossible for Kirnoth to go out and buy up all the remaining pies," Ledare said. "But you're right; he may not do much good with just his darts here." Kirnoth just glowered until Draelond spoke up. "I've not the experience of all of you," the warrior said, turning to face the group, "but tracking down the rest of these vendors in the City during the Festival seems pointless. I think we'd best be served to make sure that we stop the damage at the source and see to it that none of these carts get refilled. 'Mom' and the rest of her family are bound to return soon enough, and we'd be wrong if we didn't put an end to all of this as soon as possible." "I agree with Draelond," Ruze said. "I think we should stay here as he suggests and kill the source. It should be enough to just tell this wretch to stop selling pies." "Oh, yes! Yes!" the man said clasping his hands together and pleading. "Please jus' lemme go!" Ledare looked dubious but Finian snapped his fingers to draw the man's attention. "I want descriptions of all Mom's 'boys'," the Archer demanded and the man began giving a detailed description. From his words, the others were able to determine that one of Mom's sons was Lenicius, the skaven that Ledare and Kirnoth had dispatched at Selejian's studio. Another was Rudivan, the wererat that Finian's arrows had done in in the junction room below. It seemed likely that the other two had been the other two rat men that they had fought below, although none of the Companions had actually seen either of them in human form. Upstairs again, Ledare scooped up the bulging pouch of coins and handed it to the man. "Take this money you have made and do not sell any more meat pies ever," Ledare instructed. "The same goes for Simon." The man nodded his tear-streaked face and clutched the purse in trembling hands. Ledare gestured toward Draelond and added, "If he runs into you again he won't be as diplomatic as we are today. And if you return to this place without the money, Mother will certainly have it in for you." "I'm never returnin' to this twice-cursed place," the man spat on the floor. "Cyr, herself ain't strong enough to drag me back 'ere!" Satisfied that he was telling them the truth, they let him out and barred the doors behind him. "Now what?" Finian asked and Ruze nodded toward the covered dishes behind the counter. "You mentioned something about pies with symbols," he prompted and Finian quickly gathered them up, placing the pies on the counter in a row. One-by-one, Ruze uncovered them and scowled at the various symbols. All at once, the cleric hefted his warhammer and smashed the first pie. Brown gravy and bits of shredded meat sprayed in all directions from the sundered crust. "Shaharizod, this place is an abomination!" he wailed as he smashed each of the pies into bits and the others took cover to avoid the spattering pastry. "It seems I have walked into the horrors of chaos. Shaharizod, grant me your light to cleanse the taint." Huffing from his rush of adrenaline, he glared at the others. "So are you going to tell us what those symbols meant?" Finian asked, flicking a bit of piecrust off his studded leather jerkin. In reply Ruze said, "I will continue my blessings up here in an attempt to cleanse the taint." While Ruze, Kirnoth and Ledare remained above, Finian and Draelond went down to try recovering the three chests. Using Finian's slippers of Spider Climbing, it was a simple matter to walk down the wall and fetch them. There was no sign of any further opposition from the tunnels surrounding the junction chamber and the numerous rat and three rat-man corpses were completely inert. All three chests were locked and all showed signs of having been scratched at in an effort to open them. Someone had worked on the brass fittings with claws or the point of a knife, and the wood itself was gouged around the hinges and locks. One of the chests was noticeably lighter than the other two and only one of the heavy ones clinked with the sound of coins. Ruze chanted and traced symbols in the air as he paced the floor of the Pie Shoppe. Ledare and Kirnoth watched in silence. The cleric had just finished his cleansing when something heavy thudded against the front doors. An instant later it came again accompanied by the sound of breaking wood. A voice cried out from the street, "By order of the Watch and in the King's name, this shoppe is declared criminal! Surrender yourselves immediately!" The sound of a ram striking the doors came again and the bar that secured them made a splintering sound. It seemed unlikely that the doors would resist the battering for much longer. [/QUOTE]
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