Carnifex
First Post
"Oh, they are fine, do not worry for their wellbeing," Ak'mun'tep said offhandedly to Wyshira's question about her family, his attention already drawn to Melisande's questions which seemed to interest him more. "Shushurekkkk..." he said with an amused hiss, drawing out the last syllable as he pondered the matter for a few moments. "The Great Prophet. Yes. I have heard of the deity you call by that name, though only rarely, and I know... comparatively little that I can pass on to you. I do know that He was once a mortal, a Man of Shadow in those ancient times. A Younger God, I believe - but very powerful, and very wise." He sighed. "There is little more I know about Shushurek, to be truthful with you."
"As for cults of Elder Gods, how do you know they are stirring up more trouble than usual? What is the standard yardstick by which usual cult trouble is measured, I wonder? But I can tell you this."
"I sense something in the... air, something different. Something has changed, or is still changing. Perhaps that is what stirs the cults into action, perhaps they believe it signals an even greater change - one that will benefit them in some way."
"In fact, I think I will see whether I can discern what the nature of the change I can sense is... and I have little more time to spare here, I am afraid. Thank you all once again for freeing me; I remain most grateful. And goodbye..."
He discorporated, transmuting into thin smoke that drifted up to mingle with the ashen smog coming from the chapel.
* * *
It hadn't taken long to prepare to move out after the seer had disappeared. Wolf had been watching the exchange from a distance, cautious but remaining aloof, but now he set back to aiding organisation. The donkey looked overladen for a simple beast of burden but apparently retained the strength of it's true nature, easily clopping along without any sign of tiredness or fatigue; the man too, who never said a word, silently strapped on aboxes and crates till it looked like he would brak his back, yet didn't even break a sweat. Trin nervously hovered around the baggage train as everyone else gathered up things to carry; the verman avoided going too close to the two summoned creatures.
"Right," said Wolf, looking around the chamber for a last time. "Everyone got everything we need? Then lets go."
“I suggest we take one last look around to make sure that we have gotten all that we want from here. Also, we should probably look around to make sure that no sign of us is left behind. We don’t know who might decide to wreck a bit of revenge upon us for our work today,” Burl said.
As the party moved out, Burl made his way to Trin asking, “Would you know where the house of Cancer is located and could you show us the way?”
* * *
Of course it had been a silly question. Trouble with cults of the Elder Gods may not have been cropping up any more than usual; it was just that since Melisande left home her eyes were opening to a lot of new things that might actually just be a lot of old things. Perhaps people were visited by scary, whispering shadow-creatures in the night with relative frequency in the borderland forests. Perhaps there were crypts of Azrael all over the place, and people just didn't know because they didn't usually poke their noses into kobold nests unless forced to. Perhaps perverted scrying amulets, like see-through spectacles, abounded in the world at large. Mel had been selfish to think there was something special going on.
Yet Ak'mun'tep confirmed what the blind dwarf Cord had said he sensed, that something was changing. Something for the worse if these evil slavery cults thought to profit by it. There was much to ponder. Mel touched her hair. She'd done it up so ridiculously that morning and it was completely ruined. Serves me right, she thought. But she was going to fix it up again before going to Lord Ecurius with the news of Ak'mun'tep. He would be very interested. In the seer.
Brushing soot and dust from her bedraggled rabbit-fur cloak she headed for the exit from this place of evil, pausing to admire the seer's transfiguration work on the donkey and the porter as she slipped out with the others into the dank undercity once again.
"I suppose we'll have to hurry," she said to no one in particular. "It's a shame because I did want to go see how Sandslipper was doing at the Temple of Naskha. Maybe if we have time later..."
Burl wanted to find the malevolent mage's house and raid it for more information. It was a sound plan, but someone had to escort Ak'mun'tep's porters back to the residence and it would not be wise to break up the group. Still... she really did want to visit the Temple of Naskha while she was here...
"I'll go with Burl and Mr Trin," she suggested hesitantly.
Thinking on Burl's suggestion, Kale turned to the crew's noble porter and donkey. "Gentlemen, it seems we will be taking a detour, if that's alright with you, of course..." Despite the seer's assurances, it seemed folly to count on an unknown force. Yet, with the two creature's help, the mercenary felt emboldened to make one more risk to further their investigations.
Wolf nodded to Burl's first suggestion, of clearing the place of their tracks. "A wise idea, but I don't think anyone'd be able to tell it was us in particular after the way this place has been trashed and burned, especially with Melisande's little pyromanic urge to burn out the chapel. As for everyone's suggestions we go to Cancer's house, I don't think it's a brilliant move to split up when we've got all..."
He was interrupted by Trin waving his hands frantically to get everyone's attention. "Hey! Hello... I hate to break it to all you optimistic unfurred, but perhaps you shoudl put a halter on your desire to gallop off to that spellslinger's house because I don't know where it is. I can find just about anywhere under the ciy but on the surface? It's not as if he advertised where he lived, is it?" He gave a long-suffering huff. "If you know where it is, by all means, go ahead, but let's just get it straight before you all start looking to me for guidance here, that I don't."
* * *
Cord remained unmoving as the seer answered the questions of the magic-users in their group. He would have asked about his own experience with the growing malevolence he felt, if he trusted the incorporeal thing. With a gruff snort, he turned away.
Another seemed to have disengaged himself from the interview. Silently, Cord approached Kale to stand solidly at his side. Cord offered no words, no criticisms, no judgements. Just his presence served as an affirmation of Kale's actions. Inwardly, the old dwarf smiled. Despite Kale's assurance he did not want a postition of power or leadership, with every passing moment he grew into that very role. The others admired him, as did Cord.
After Ak'mun'tep left, and the party began to focus on where to go next, Cord made his way to stand near Trin. Cancer's residence was definitely a good location to seek, however first they would need to safely find the surface. Cord trusted the ratlike being very little, and hoped to confirm their return route.
Kale would understand his intentions, and no doubt Wyshira could probably hazard a guess as to why he would allow his fingers to trail against the rock, or bend over to hear the whisper of a wind. Silently, he assumed his own role as a backup guide, should their untrustworthy one fail.
"As for cults of Elder Gods, how do you know they are stirring up more trouble than usual? What is the standard yardstick by which usual cult trouble is measured, I wonder? But I can tell you this."
"I sense something in the... air, something different. Something has changed, or is still changing. Perhaps that is what stirs the cults into action, perhaps they believe it signals an even greater change - one that will benefit them in some way."
"In fact, I think I will see whether I can discern what the nature of the change I can sense is... and I have little more time to spare here, I am afraid. Thank you all once again for freeing me; I remain most grateful. And goodbye..."
He discorporated, transmuting into thin smoke that drifted up to mingle with the ashen smog coming from the chapel.
* * *
It hadn't taken long to prepare to move out after the seer had disappeared. Wolf had been watching the exchange from a distance, cautious but remaining aloof, but now he set back to aiding organisation. The donkey looked overladen for a simple beast of burden but apparently retained the strength of it's true nature, easily clopping along without any sign of tiredness or fatigue; the man too, who never said a word, silently strapped on aboxes and crates till it looked like he would brak his back, yet didn't even break a sweat. Trin nervously hovered around the baggage train as everyone else gathered up things to carry; the verman avoided going too close to the two summoned creatures.
"Right," said Wolf, looking around the chamber for a last time. "Everyone got everything we need? Then lets go."
“I suggest we take one last look around to make sure that we have gotten all that we want from here. Also, we should probably look around to make sure that no sign of us is left behind. We don’t know who might decide to wreck a bit of revenge upon us for our work today,” Burl said.
As the party moved out, Burl made his way to Trin asking, “Would you know where the house of Cancer is located and could you show us the way?”
* * *
Of course it had been a silly question. Trouble with cults of the Elder Gods may not have been cropping up any more than usual; it was just that since Melisande left home her eyes were opening to a lot of new things that might actually just be a lot of old things. Perhaps people were visited by scary, whispering shadow-creatures in the night with relative frequency in the borderland forests. Perhaps there were crypts of Azrael all over the place, and people just didn't know because they didn't usually poke their noses into kobold nests unless forced to. Perhaps perverted scrying amulets, like see-through spectacles, abounded in the world at large. Mel had been selfish to think there was something special going on.
Yet Ak'mun'tep confirmed what the blind dwarf Cord had said he sensed, that something was changing. Something for the worse if these evil slavery cults thought to profit by it. There was much to ponder. Mel touched her hair. She'd done it up so ridiculously that morning and it was completely ruined. Serves me right, she thought. But she was going to fix it up again before going to Lord Ecurius with the news of Ak'mun'tep. He would be very interested. In the seer.
Brushing soot and dust from her bedraggled rabbit-fur cloak she headed for the exit from this place of evil, pausing to admire the seer's transfiguration work on the donkey and the porter as she slipped out with the others into the dank undercity once again.
"I suppose we'll have to hurry," she said to no one in particular. "It's a shame because I did want to go see how Sandslipper was doing at the Temple of Naskha. Maybe if we have time later..."
Burl wanted to find the malevolent mage's house and raid it for more information. It was a sound plan, but someone had to escort Ak'mun'tep's porters back to the residence and it would not be wise to break up the group. Still... she really did want to visit the Temple of Naskha while she was here...
"I'll go with Burl and Mr Trin," she suggested hesitantly.
Thinking on Burl's suggestion, Kale turned to the crew's noble porter and donkey. "Gentlemen, it seems we will be taking a detour, if that's alright with you, of course..." Despite the seer's assurances, it seemed folly to count on an unknown force. Yet, with the two creature's help, the mercenary felt emboldened to make one more risk to further their investigations.
Wolf nodded to Burl's first suggestion, of clearing the place of their tracks. "A wise idea, but I don't think anyone'd be able to tell it was us in particular after the way this place has been trashed and burned, especially with Melisande's little pyromanic urge to burn out the chapel. As for everyone's suggestions we go to Cancer's house, I don't think it's a brilliant move to split up when we've got all..."
He was interrupted by Trin waving his hands frantically to get everyone's attention. "Hey! Hello... I hate to break it to all you optimistic unfurred, but perhaps you shoudl put a halter on your desire to gallop off to that spellslinger's house because I don't know where it is. I can find just about anywhere under the ciy but on the surface? It's not as if he advertised where he lived, is it?" He gave a long-suffering huff. "If you know where it is, by all means, go ahead, but let's just get it straight before you all start looking to me for guidance here, that I don't."
* * *
Cord remained unmoving as the seer answered the questions of the magic-users in their group. He would have asked about his own experience with the growing malevolence he felt, if he trusted the incorporeal thing. With a gruff snort, he turned away.
Another seemed to have disengaged himself from the interview. Silently, Cord approached Kale to stand solidly at his side. Cord offered no words, no criticisms, no judgements. Just his presence served as an affirmation of Kale's actions. Inwardly, the old dwarf smiled. Despite Kale's assurance he did not want a postition of power or leadership, with every passing moment he grew into that very role. The others admired him, as did Cord.
After Ak'mun'tep left, and the party began to focus on where to go next, Cord made his way to stand near Trin. Cancer's residence was definitely a good location to seek, however first they would need to safely find the surface. Cord trusted the ratlike being very little, and hoped to confirm their return route.
Kale would understand his intentions, and no doubt Wyshira could probably hazard a guess as to why he would allow his fingers to trail against the rock, or bend over to hear the whisper of a wind. Silently, he assumed his own role as a backup guide, should their untrustworthy one fail.
