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<blockquote data-quote="Rughat" data-source="post: 5468640" data-attributes="member: 81627">Zacris had made a rock that slowly turned anything holding or touching it into stone.&nbsp; It was, he thought, a perfect way to hold someone prisoner for a long time.&nbsp; Keep them tied to the stone for a few hours, and (once the screaming stops) they'll be immobile for years until you give the command word to turn off the rock.He first used it when he brought the royal family of Cedrix as conqured prisoners to the Empire.&nbsp; The Cedrixians had insulted the Emperor, and so they were decreed to be imprisoned in stone for a decade.&nbsp; They were placed in a central garden, bound to the stone, and left as a statue and reminder of the Empires triumph.With one thing and another, Zacris forgot about releasing the Cedrixians.&nbsp; When he was reminded that they had served their sentence, he unfortunately had forgotten the command word to release them.&nbsp; (Or perhaps he just couldn't be bothered.)&nbsp; However, it was discovered that people didn't need to be touching the original stone to be turned to stone - anything that was touching the existing statues also turned to stone.&nbsp; Other captured royal families were added to the statue, until it took up the entire garden.&nbsp; At a certain point, Zacris and his companions began competing to create aesthetic arrangements of the new additionsNow, when you enter the Garden of Royals, you see a massive stone sculpture - writhing bodies, bound together, bodies contorted, sometimes forming gazebos and arches, faces twisted in pain.&nbsp; Paths lead into the sculpture, and there are walled spots within where one can sit and rest, or talk discretely - a singular place to conduct diplomacy with hostile nations.(Bonus points:&nbsp; instead of a rock, make the object a macguffin.&nbsp; Only way to get it: find the release word, and then wade through a horde of suddenly released nobles who are probably all insane - especially if they've been conscious all these years.)</blockquote>

[QUOTE="Rughat, post: 5468640, member: 81627"] Zacris had made a rock that slowly turned anything holding or touching it into stone. It was, he thought, a perfect way to hold someone prisoner for a long time. Keep them tied to the stone for a few hours, and (once the screaming stops) they'll be immobile for years until you give the command word to turn off the rock. He first used it when he brought the royal family of Cedrix as conqured prisoners to the Empire. The Cedrixians had insulted the Emperor, and so they were decreed to be imprisoned in stone for a decade. They were placed in a central garden, bound to the stone, and left as a statue and reminder of the Empires triumph. With one thing and another, Zacris forgot about releasing the Cedrixians. When he was reminded that they had served their sentence, he unfortunately had forgotten the command word to release them. (Or perhaps he just couldn't be bothered.) However, it was discovered that people didn't need to be touching the original stone to be turned to stone - anything that was touching the existing statues also turned to stone. Other captured royal families were added to the statue, until it took up the entire garden. At a certain point, Zacris and his companions began competing to create aesthetic arrangements of the new additions Now, when you enter the Garden of Royals, you see a massive stone sculpture - writhing bodies, bound together, bodies contorted, sometimes forming gazebos and arches, faces twisted in pain. Paths lead into the sculpture, and there are walled spots within where one can sit and rest, or talk discretely - a singular place to conduct diplomacy with hostile nations. (Bonus points: instead of a rock, make the object a macguffin. Only way to get it: find the release word, and then wade through a horde of suddenly released nobles who are probably all insane - especially if they've been conscious all these years.) [/QUOTE]

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