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Message: <blockquote data-quote="the Jester" data-source="post: 1072396" data-attributes="member: 1210">In the Hands of the InquisitionDexter was terrified.  He was just a kid, after all, a lad of sixteen at the time; he'd never even kissed a girl.  He'd fallen in with a profoundly bad influence and done some truly horrible things, and now- in the Inquisition's tiny cell- he was afraid he was going to pay the price.  Worst of all, he'd given himself to Bleak.  Would they know?  It seemed so.  They dragged him from his cell, kicked him to... to the chamber... and branded his forehead, with a great sweltering B rune, for Bleak.  Then they burned the palms of both of his hands with hot pokers.  Then, roughly, they returned him to his cell, where there was water and a little bread.Could he make a break for it?  Even as he thought about it, the odds seemed dismal.  Even if he could break free from the cell somehow- not at all a sure prospect- the Inquisitors would surely catch him, and then he'd be put to the question for sure.  The thought of the devices they'd shown him, explained the uses of to him on his way to his cell, made him quail.  No, an escape attempt would only make it worse.  Oh, Bleak!His thoughts were interrupted after a long while when a confessor came in, offering to take his confession.  She was beautiful, and to the uncertain Dexter she was a weapon aimed at the biggest chink in his already uncertain armor.  "What's going to happen to me?" he pleaded.  The brand on his head felt like it was burning up."That depends," said the Confessor, Sheila.  "If you confess to your sins, perhaps Galador will forgive you."  Not hopeful sounding at all.  What about his friends?  Might they mount a rescue attempt?  Not likely, yet... Even as Dexter prayed for his friends to aid him, the rest of the party was singing sea chanties on the way back to the Coral Caves on Captain Drake's ship.  No help was coming to him; Dexter was in the clutches of the worst people he, in his situation, could have come to.  He was hopeless and despondant as he sank towards sleep.  In the morning they would come for him, and take him back to the... the chamber, where all the devices awaited... shivering, cold in his shift, he lay on the stone floor and finally slept.And dreamed...Forgive them, my Son, for they know not what they do, came the voice from the brilliant light; and was it Galador?  Galador? Dexter asked, but there was no answer, just the searing, pure light...Was it a fever dream?  Was it real?  Dexter didn't know, but it terrified him.In the morning, Dexter confessed to everything.  He told of the priest of Bleak who had influenced him, claiming not to know his name; cried that he'd fallen in with bad company.  Sheila nodded and took notes and promised to seek intercession for him, but warned him that she could promise nothing.So it was that Dexter was given a coarse robe and was taken upon a stage, where he was made to publicly confess his crimes and recant against Bleak.  He swore to follow the Light henceforth, and they sat him in a chair and heated a metal brand and placed an X over the B rune on his forehead.  Dexter howled but the Inquisitor showed no mercy, driving the brand heavily into Dexter's forehead.  When finally he pulled it away, he growled, "You're lucky Hendrick the Witch-Hunter isn't here."Dexter changed alignment on the spot from NE to N.  He didn't know for sure, but he assumed that they'd know if he broke his word... so he didn't.  And, based on Sheila's recommendation, they let him go with a stern warning- namely, burnt head and hands, with a branding that would definitely scar.Meanwhile, things were getting interesting with the others.  They were approaching the Coral Caves, and after some discussion Malford and Galiger had decided to become pirates.  They needed money for a ship- a knarr seemed to be about right for their needs, at least initially.  That would take a decent investment. So they returned to the Coral Caves...Next Time: Back in the Coral Caves!  The beginnings of the gnome on a rope phenomenon (though with a dwarf).</blockquote>

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