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Terrace and the rise of Evil
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<blockquote data-quote="akira1" data-source="post: 4506429" data-attributes="member: 64437"><p><strong>Loose Ends</strong></p><p></p><p>The cool shadows of the Scions inner compound, even though they provided relief from the blistering heat common to the central blood lands region, did not offer any comfort to Dr Adiago Yurobo Zhindzhe as he stood in the inner court yard and waited for his summons. As he watched, the Doctor filed the information away for careful study later. He was quite aware that it would not pay to appear to be to curious at observing the Clergy of the Scion in their place of Power. The Doctor observed the priestesses, all naked from the waist up with a series of interlocking chains crisscrossing their bare chests, wide sashes around their waists, heads shaved bald, and silk dresses or voluminous pants as they moved with clockwork precision through their home and center of power. There was an eerie quiet to the place and the chill in the air all combined to instill an abiding dread in Dr Zhindzhe. </p><p></p><p> Almost like a shade, she drifted out of the cool shadows quietly and addressed Dr Zhindzhe, " Good evening doctor, I hope you have not had to wait overlong." Iselia said in clipped precise tones. </p><p></p><p> Jumping slightly at her silent approach, Dr Zhindzhe stammered, " No Holy Priestess, I have not been waiting to long." </p><p></p><p> Turning, Dr Zhindzhe gaped at Iselia. The priestess was tall easily 6ft and had a statuesque build. She had tanned skin and brilliant blue eyes stared out of her shaved head. Her lips was thin and blood red and there did not seem to be a spare ounce of flesh on her well toned body. She had a wide black sash around her waist and a silver silk dress cut high on her left shapely leg. She wore a pair of embroidered black silk slippers. Over all of this though there was a sense of untouchable coldness that seemed to make her exotic looks almost alien. </p><p></p><p> With a slightly sardonic smile the priestess chided, "Its unseemly to gape Doctor. You have come here for a purpose and lets us go now and attend to that." </p><p></p><p>"Of course, Priestess Iselia." Dr Zhindzhe stammered as he began to follow her into the shadows of the Scions compound. </p><p></p><p> Iselia led Dr Zhindzhe into a suite of well appointed rooms overlooking a parade ground where scores of the Scions Priestesses performed calisthenics under the watchful eyes of their superiors. </p><p></p><p> Questioningly Dr Zhindzhe asked, "Pardon my ignorance, but your religion seems well, foreign compared to the ones more common to the Blood lands region." </p><p></p><p> Seeing his eyes directed to the parade ground Iselia replied simply, "The Holy Scion stresses perfection of body as well as spirit." and then pointing to a severely squared off chair she stated, "Sit Doctor, my time is not unlimited this day." </p><p></p><p> Hastily taking his seat, Dr Zhindzhe gathered his memory crystals and notepad and dived headlong into the questions by asking, "When I received your 'summons' to come here I was a little startled no less by the reason for your summons, The Adventuring group known as the Tainted." </p><p></p><p> "Yes, Ivanor, Damien, and Kalanaghar are one of the purposes that you have been given an 'invitation' to speak with me." The Priestess countered. </p><p> "Lets be frank here Iselia, you did not ask me to come here so much as you commanded it." Dr Zhindzhe said flatly. </p><p></p><p> With a simple nod of acquiescence and a cold glint in her eyes, she stated, "Of Course. Now would you like to hear my story?" </p><p></p><p> "Of course, I meant no disrespect." Dr Zhindzhe quickly replied. </p><p></p><p> "None taken Doctor." Iselia replied, "Now this adventuring group, the Tainted as you have called them had a very busy couple of days at the end of the Month of Skullsflame." </p><p></p><p> "I am beginning to get that impression." Dr Zhindzhe said. </p><p></p><p> Nodding, the Priestess said, "Well, the first major thing that occurred was that they did go to Brickface and accepted the Mission to go hunt a Unicorn." </p><p></p><p>"Really, I thought they were extinct in the Blood Lands Region." The Doctor replied. </p><p></p><p> "Logically doctor your statement cannot be true, How would they be assigned a mission if the target of the mission did not exist." The Priestess said coldly, " In any event they accepted the mission and then the first big revelation came to them." </p><p></p><p> Remaining silent and motioning the priestess to continue Dr Zhindzhe waited with anticipation on the revelation. </p><p></p><p> "The found out the identity of Mr Sleep. According to Brickface, he was not provided with the specifics on this mission, but he did explain to them that it came from higher ups and their success in this mission would directly relate to an increase in status for themselves and Lolita's Syndicate in general. To this end he introduced them to Mr Sleep so that they could get the particulars." </p><p></p><p> "And Mr Sleep was....." Dr Zhindzhe nearly shrieked. </p><p></p><p> "The Drow Female with the mo- hawk that is always in Brickfaces office. Apparently she wanted to see them first hand and assess them for herself. She began to make it a point to show up in Brickface's office when they were they to watch them." The Priestess stated. </p><p></p><p> "Amazing!" Dr Zhindzhe exclaimed. "So The Drow Female with the Mohawk is Mr Sleep. I would have figured that Mr Sleep would be male." </p><p></p><p> "Of course you would Doctor. You are not versed in the necessities of subterfuge and misdirection." The Priestess calmly replied. "Mr Sleep went on to detail the mission for the Tainted. She stated that they would travel to the port town of Orin approximately 3 days NE of Rath and there they would seek out the man named Bismark and he would transport them across the cloven straight into the Hinterlands, the ancestral home of the Barbarians." </p><p></p><p> "Of course" Dr Zhindzhe snapped. " If there were a Unicorn anywhere on this continent, it would be in the Hinterlands, that place is known almost as well for its biting cold as it is for the strangely magical creatures that inhabit its tundras." </p><p></p><p> "Well they accepted the mission and also on the morning of the 31st Day of Skullsflame, they saw the Grim Riders, who had accepted the mission for Lord Nominian riding out of the city." Iselia stated. </p><p></p><p> "I see." Dr Zhindzhe said as he looked at the calm and collected priestess. " What does that have to do with anything?" </p><p></p><p> "Nothing apparently. Damien did go out and ask around about it and he found out that Lord Nominian had been advertising for some time for a Mercenary company to exact some retribution for him on the town known as the Ruins of Castor. Apparently one of his caravans got attacked near this outpost on its way back from Ulmesh and the Lord Nominian took exception to the excuses that the Leaders of the Ruins of Castor gave him." The Priestess said in exacting detail. </p><p></p><p> "So why hire a mercenary company?" Dr Zhindzhe queried. </p><p></p><p> "To raze the town to the ground." The priestess stated calmly. </p><p></p><p> Dr Zhindzhe gaped at her as she said this and then in a low voice, " You cant be serious." </p><p></p><p> "As serious as a heart attack good Doctor." Came her cool reply. </p><p></p><p> "After accepting the mission, they received their payment and bought new equipment. They then decided to seek out Kespian Black and his thugs since they had been informed that he had gone to ground and was gathering the remnants of his forces for a break out of district 9." The Priestess quickly changed topics. </p><p></p><p> "What do you mean by a break out?" Dr Zhindzhe asked. </p><p></p><p> "Brickface after raiding their base of power and dealing them several considerable deadly blows thanks to the information that Amelia found in their HQ had essentially locked down all exits out of #9 and Kespian was going to have to fight his way out if he wanted to survive." The Priestess replied. </p><p></p><p> "I see so how did they go about finishing off Kespian?" Dr Zhindzhe asked. </p><p></p><p> " After a bit of wrangling about whether they should do this, they split up to gather information. Kalanaghar went seeking strange gatherings of people, and hooded people." The Priestess began. </p><p></p><p> "In this city!" Dr Zhindzhe interrupted. </p><p></p><p> Coldly and lethally Iselia said, "You have a rather annoying behavior of interrupting me when I am explaining things Doctor. In the future it would be good for you to learn and practice restraint when talking to a Priestess of the Scion." </p><p></p><p> With his eyes wide, Dr Zhindzhe backed up further in his chair and said, " As you command. " </p><p></p><p> "As I was saying," The priestess continued, "Damien went back to the actual old headquarters and there he ran into a bit of trouble. Kespian and his boys were still there. Apparently there was an underground cavern system that had been missed when Brickfaces people came through the first time." </p><p></p><p> Tapping a finger beside his nose, Dr Zhindzhe replied, "Clever." </p><p></p><p> "Indeed, Upon entering the house though Damien was assaulted by a Half Demon Barbarian who engaged him in combat. After trading blows, Damein stabbed the beast through the throat and finished him off. He then left to return to the Devil's Cup for their scheduled 2 hour meet up to share their information." The priestess said matter of factly. "Damien was not able to flee immediately and one of Kespians lieutenants, Saramus Fellwind came up with 4 Talons to investigate the sounds they had heard. Upon finding the dead body, Saramus dispatched the talons on a search for any likely intruders. Damien was safely hidden in a bush and when the Talons returned empty handed, Saramus smote one of them to death with divine magic and then declared that failure was not an option and that they were to go try again." </p><p></p><p> With a small furrow between his brow, Dr Zhindzhe asked, " Kespain had lieutentants?"</p><p></p><p>"Yes, He had two, a human male diabolist named Saramus Fellwind, who according to Amelia bore a tattoo across his head and was well connected outside of Rath itself, and a Drow Anti paladin known as Evo Shandar." The Priestess responded. </p><p></p><p> "Interesting so what did they do next?" Dr Zhindzhe queried. </p><p></p><p> "Ivanor spread around some money in hopes of locating a rumor monger. Even though his efforts did not bear fruit this time, he was given the names of 3 locals that might in the future provide information." The Priestess continued. </p><p></p><p> Nodding to indicate that the priestess should continue, Dr Zhindzhe continued to take down her words as she spoke them. </p><p></p><p> "They met up and compared notes and decided that they would go into the house and finish off Kespian and his gang." The Priestess continued.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="akira1, post: 4506429, member: 64437"] [b]Loose Ends[/b] The cool shadows of the Scions inner compound, even though they provided relief from the blistering heat common to the central blood lands region, did not offer any comfort to Dr Adiago Yurobo Zhindzhe as he stood in the inner court yard and waited for his summons. As he watched, the Doctor filed the information away for careful study later. He was quite aware that it would not pay to appear to be to curious at observing the Clergy of the Scion in their place of Power. The Doctor observed the priestesses, all naked from the waist up with a series of interlocking chains crisscrossing their bare chests, wide sashes around their waists, heads shaved bald, and silk dresses or voluminous pants as they moved with clockwork precision through their home and center of power. There was an eerie quiet to the place and the chill in the air all combined to instill an abiding dread in Dr Zhindzhe. Almost like a shade, she drifted out of the cool shadows quietly and addressed Dr Zhindzhe, " Good evening doctor, I hope you have not had to wait overlong." Iselia said in clipped precise tones. Jumping slightly at her silent approach, Dr Zhindzhe stammered, " No Holy Priestess, I have not been waiting to long." Turning, Dr Zhindzhe gaped at Iselia. The priestess was tall easily 6ft and had a statuesque build. She had tanned skin and brilliant blue eyes stared out of her shaved head. Her lips was thin and blood red and there did not seem to be a spare ounce of flesh on her well toned body. She had a wide black sash around her waist and a silver silk dress cut high on her left shapely leg. She wore a pair of embroidered black silk slippers. Over all of this though there was a sense of untouchable coldness that seemed to make her exotic looks almost alien. With a slightly sardonic smile the priestess chided, "Its unseemly to gape Doctor. You have come here for a purpose and lets us go now and attend to that." "Of course, Priestess Iselia." Dr Zhindzhe stammered as he began to follow her into the shadows of the Scions compound. Iselia led Dr Zhindzhe into a suite of well appointed rooms overlooking a parade ground where scores of the Scions Priestesses performed calisthenics under the watchful eyes of their superiors. Questioningly Dr Zhindzhe asked, "Pardon my ignorance, but your religion seems well, foreign compared to the ones more common to the Blood lands region." Seeing his eyes directed to the parade ground Iselia replied simply, "The Holy Scion stresses perfection of body as well as spirit." and then pointing to a severely squared off chair she stated, "Sit Doctor, my time is not unlimited this day." Hastily taking his seat, Dr Zhindzhe gathered his memory crystals and notepad and dived headlong into the questions by asking, "When I received your 'summons' to come here I was a little startled no less by the reason for your summons, The Adventuring group known as the Tainted." "Yes, Ivanor, Damien, and Kalanaghar are one of the purposes that you have been given an 'invitation' to speak with me." The Priestess countered. "Lets be frank here Iselia, you did not ask me to come here so much as you commanded it." Dr Zhindzhe said flatly. With a simple nod of acquiescence and a cold glint in her eyes, she stated, "Of Course. Now would you like to hear my story?" "Of course, I meant no disrespect." Dr Zhindzhe quickly replied. "None taken Doctor." Iselia replied, "Now this adventuring group, the Tainted as you have called them had a very busy couple of days at the end of the Month of Skullsflame." "I am beginning to get that impression." Dr Zhindzhe said. Nodding, the Priestess said, "Well, the first major thing that occurred was that they did go to Brickface and accepted the Mission to go hunt a Unicorn." "Really, I thought they were extinct in the Blood Lands Region." The Doctor replied. "Logically doctor your statement cannot be true, How would they be assigned a mission if the target of the mission did not exist." The Priestess said coldly, " In any event they accepted the mission and then the first big revelation came to them." Remaining silent and motioning the priestess to continue Dr Zhindzhe waited with anticipation on the revelation. "The found out the identity of Mr Sleep. According to Brickface, he was not provided with the specifics on this mission, but he did explain to them that it came from higher ups and their success in this mission would directly relate to an increase in status for themselves and Lolita's Syndicate in general. To this end he introduced them to Mr Sleep so that they could get the particulars." "And Mr Sleep was....." Dr Zhindzhe nearly shrieked. "The Drow Female with the mo- hawk that is always in Brickfaces office. Apparently she wanted to see them first hand and assess them for herself. She began to make it a point to show up in Brickface's office when they were they to watch them." The Priestess stated. "Amazing!" Dr Zhindzhe exclaimed. "So The Drow Female with the Mohawk is Mr Sleep. I would have figured that Mr Sleep would be male." "Of course you would Doctor. You are not versed in the necessities of subterfuge and misdirection." The Priestess calmly replied. "Mr Sleep went on to detail the mission for the Tainted. She stated that they would travel to the port town of Orin approximately 3 days NE of Rath and there they would seek out the man named Bismark and he would transport them across the cloven straight into the Hinterlands, the ancestral home of the Barbarians." "Of course" Dr Zhindzhe snapped. " If there were a Unicorn anywhere on this continent, it would be in the Hinterlands, that place is known almost as well for its biting cold as it is for the strangely magical creatures that inhabit its tundras." "Well they accepted the mission and also on the morning of the 31st Day of Skullsflame, they saw the Grim Riders, who had accepted the mission for Lord Nominian riding out of the city." Iselia stated. "I see." Dr Zhindzhe said as he looked at the calm and collected priestess. " What does that have to do with anything?" "Nothing apparently. Damien did go out and ask around about it and he found out that Lord Nominian had been advertising for some time for a Mercenary company to exact some retribution for him on the town known as the Ruins of Castor. Apparently one of his caravans got attacked near this outpost on its way back from Ulmesh and the Lord Nominian took exception to the excuses that the Leaders of the Ruins of Castor gave him." The Priestess said in exacting detail. "So why hire a mercenary company?" Dr Zhindzhe queried. "To raze the town to the ground." The priestess stated calmly. Dr Zhindzhe gaped at her as she said this and then in a low voice, " You cant be serious." "As serious as a heart attack good Doctor." Came her cool reply. "After accepting the mission, they received their payment and bought new equipment. They then decided to seek out Kespian Black and his thugs since they had been informed that he had gone to ground and was gathering the remnants of his forces for a break out of district 9." The Priestess quickly changed topics. "What do you mean by a break out?" Dr Zhindzhe asked. "Brickface after raiding their base of power and dealing them several considerable deadly blows thanks to the information that Amelia found in their HQ had essentially locked down all exits out of #9 and Kespian was going to have to fight his way out if he wanted to survive." The Priestess replied. "I see so how did they go about finishing off Kespian?" Dr Zhindzhe asked. " After a bit of wrangling about whether they should do this, they split up to gather information. Kalanaghar went seeking strange gatherings of people, and hooded people." The Priestess began. "In this city!" Dr Zhindzhe interrupted. Coldly and lethally Iselia said, "You have a rather annoying behavior of interrupting me when I am explaining things Doctor. In the future it would be good for you to learn and practice restraint when talking to a Priestess of the Scion." With his eyes wide, Dr Zhindzhe backed up further in his chair and said, " As you command. " "As I was saying," The priestess continued, "Damien went back to the actual old headquarters and there he ran into a bit of trouble. Kespian and his boys were still there. Apparently there was an underground cavern system that had been missed when Brickfaces people came through the first time." Tapping a finger beside his nose, Dr Zhindzhe replied, "Clever." "Indeed, Upon entering the house though Damien was assaulted by a Half Demon Barbarian who engaged him in combat. After trading blows, Damein stabbed the beast through the throat and finished him off. He then left to return to the Devil's Cup for their scheduled 2 hour meet up to share their information." The priestess said matter of factly. "Damien was not able to flee immediately and one of Kespians lieutenants, Saramus Fellwind came up with 4 Talons to investigate the sounds they had heard. Upon finding the dead body, Saramus dispatched the talons on a search for any likely intruders. Damien was safely hidden in a bush and when the Talons returned empty handed, Saramus smote one of them to death with divine magic and then declared that failure was not an option and that they were to go try again." With a small furrow between his brow, Dr Zhindzhe asked, " Kespain had lieutentants?" "Yes, He had two, a human male diabolist named Saramus Fellwind, who according to Amelia bore a tattoo across his head and was well connected outside of Rath itself, and a Drow Anti paladin known as Evo Shandar." The Priestess responded. "Interesting so what did they do next?" Dr Zhindzhe queried. "Ivanor spread around some money in hopes of locating a rumor monger. Even though his efforts did not bear fruit this time, he was given the names of 3 locals that might in the future provide information." The Priestess continued. Nodding to indicate that the priestess should continue, Dr Zhindzhe continued to take down her words as she spoke them. "They met up and compared notes and decided that they would go into the house and finish off Kespian and his gang." The Priestess continued. [/QUOTE]
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