~input%star_adt_mini.PV1.PV1-18-patient_type.patient_type)
I love the smell of HL7 in the morning...
I love the smell of HL7 in the morning...
-
NOW LIVE! Into the Woods--new character species, eerie monsters, and haunting villains to populate the woodlands of your D&D games.
The Ctrl + V game revisited ... in honor of Bront
- Thread starter Mycanid
- Start date
Nonlethal Force
First Post
Yep, it's what I thought...
[Sblock=Lengthy, again]
Ophee had used the crystal ball to find direct path into Partuss and to the bakery near to which Eliah was working. Once she had the route memorized she had Master Searthu teleport her just outside the city limits. Partuss wasn’t a large enough town that walking in would take too long. It would be much easier to not arouse suspicion if she entered the city from the outside than if she had appeared in a back alley like Charis.
She had little trouble finding the bakery. She hadn’t often visited Partuss on her ways to and from Eberdeen, but she had visited it often enough to know where to find the bakery. In order to mask her approach, however, Ophee had Master Searthu teleport her to the less populated northern side of the city. Thus, while she knew where to find the bakery within the city, she was not familiar with the path that she had taken onto the city this time.
Once she found the bakery, she checked inside to see if Eliah had moved from the office to the bakery. The bakery had several patrons inside, but none of them were the red haired, pointy eared man that she sought. Nodding to herself, she turned to the building beside the bakery and found Eliah’s office.
Her knuckles wrapped solidly on the door. “Eliah, it’s Ophee. Open up.”
From behind the closed door Ophee could hear a wooden chair hit the ground. She had apparently caught Eliah leaning back and startled him. Only seconds later the door opened quickly. “Ophee? But, we were told that you were dead! Our master pulled us all back to Eberdeen a few days ago and gave us the news. He told us that you had been killed while stopping an underground slave ring.”
Ophee smiled sarcastically. “The reports of my death have been largely over-exaggerated.”
Eliah laughed at Ophee’s facial expression and comment. “Well, obviously.”
Ophee’s lips parted into a full smile. “No, Eliah, you don’t really understand. Much has been exaggerated. There is no slave ring at all. It was a lie. I need to step inside and tell you.”
Eliah’s smile vanished. “Careful, Opheiluka. You’re trespassing on the sacred ground of employment now. You know the ties and obligations that bind us together. And you know the bondage of the oath of loyalty that we each are expected to hold up with our master.”
Ophee shook her head from side to side. “Eliah, I need to come in. We need to talk, but I’m not talking here in the hallway. It’s just not safe. Someone might overhear.’
Eliah’s eyes narrowed as he focused on Ophee. From her perspective, it appeared as though his hair grew in reddish intensity, although in truth it was the reddening of his facial skin from the increased blood pressure. “Okay, come in and we’ll talk. But promise that you are aware that I take my oaths seriously.”
Ophee nodded in agreement and accepted his invitation. Once she was inside, Ophee turned to Eliah and replied. “Oh, I take my oaths seriously as well. I am loyal to those who demonstrate they desire my loyalty by remaining loyal to me. We’ve been lied to by the wizard in Eberdeen.”
Eliah nearly spat as he replied quickly to Ophee’s accusations. “You’d better explain that accusation quickly, Ophee. Our master has been very good to us. We’re paid well, and so long as we do what we are asked he doesn’t get rid of us. Our tasks aren’t even that hard. It’s a nice job, Ophee. Don’t make me report you in anger rather than reporting with joy to our master that you are still alive.”
Ophee smiled sarcastically once more. “He was satisfied with my death, remember? With all his ability to glean information through us and magic, don’t you think he should have been able to find out if I was alive?” Ophee knew that the temple had been shielded from the wizard in Eberdeen, but she also knew that he had the magic to turn the destroyed barn upside down in the process of looking for remains as well. He had accepted her death far too easily for Ophee’s tastes.
Eliah paused for a moment before replying. “I suppose, but he was grieving, Ophee. You were like a daughter to him.”
Ophee closed her eyes at the memory. She had once felt as if he truly loved her like a father would love a daughter. Now she simply felt betrayed, like a slave who found out that the master’s love was solely based on possession and her ability to be productive. Suddenly she realized that she understood Charis’ past so much better. “You were told that I was killed in the process of destroying a slave ring?” Ophee’s mood and tone had changed. She didn’t want to express the emotion inside of her, so her words come out flat.
Eliah nodded. “We were. We were told that our master was attempting to snuff out a slave ring that he had discovered, and they were operating through Fingerdale. We were told that he had equipped you with a few magical items. Our master said that he had given you the ability to shield yourself from lesser magic. He said that he had also given you the ability to destroy them in a powerful fire. He swore that the item that protected you from lesser magic had been designed to protect you from the same slaughtering fire that would destroy the slavers.”
Ophee laughed. “So how did your master explain my death? If I was protected from everything, how did I die?”
Eliah shrugged his shoulders. “He was very distraught, Ophee. His emotions were blocking his thinking. He said that he didn’t know.”
Ophee laughed at the thought. “When has there ever been anything that your master didn’t know when he would bring us in from the field? Do you honestly believe that your master didn’t know something, especially if it involved someone he supposedly loved like a daughter?”
Eliah swallowed hard. “I don’t know. Like I said, he was upset, Ophee.”
Ophee used her left hand to crack the knuckles in her right hand in one swift motion. “Oh, I don’t doubt that he was upset, Eliah. He was upset because he had lost a slave. I might yet die in the process of destroying a slave ring, but it was no slave ring that he sent me up against.”
Eliah stood up in an agitated fashion, but Ophee merely leaned back in her chair in response. “Oh, sit back down, Eliah. I can explain myself. Why don’t you quite feeling defensive and just listen? If what I say to you doesn’t make sense, I’ll leave.”
Eliah breathed in deeply and then slowly exhaled. “Fine. I’ll sit back down. But you had better have a good story.”
Ophee brought her lips together tightly and thought for several seconds before speaking. As she thought, her head began to bob back and forth and her eyes looked as though they would cry, although they never did bring forth tears. “Listen, Eliah. I’ve recently discovered that our master manipulates the truth that he gives to us. And he does it through very disreputable means. He does it through brainwashing. Can I assume that when you come in for training he always starts with a cup of hot tea as you sit and talk on the sofas in his office?”
Eliah nodded, but didn’t respond. Once Ophee saw the nod, she continued. “I was recently sent on a mission into Quehalost to retrieve a substance called Black Arum. It is also known as Arum Dracunculus, the Stink Lily, and even the Voodoo Lily. The reason it has the last name is because when an excretion from the roots is combined with a bit of magic a toxin is developed. This toxin makes the mind quite pliable. The toxin was probably slipped into our tea, so that your master could implant suggestions while we thought we were being trained. I know that he does it because of the story I’m going to tell you. I collected the Vodoo Lily for him, and didn’t know what I was doing until it was used on me!”
Ophee paused, but Eliah didn’t take the opportunity to ask any questions. Ophee continued her story. “You see, the last time I was brought in for training I was told that I was to seek out and find a slave ring. When I had found the slave ring I was supposed to contact the wizard with information. But he never told me about the magic items with which he had equipped me. He set me up. He only gave me part of the information consciously. The rest of the information he slipped into my mind while I was under the effect of the Arum Dracunculus.”
Once more Ophee paused, and this time she could tell that her story was affecting Eliah. His eyes told her that the seeds of doubt had been sowed. “Eliah, what I am about to tell you is the truth. You see, the wizard put a secret command word into my brain. When the command word was triggered, I lost control of my ability to make my own decisions. When the command word was triggered, I activated a magic ring that I didn’t even know how to use! That right there is proof that I was brainwashed! I nearly slaughtered my friends because the wizard had set me up and wanted them dead. The same friends who had helped him collect the Arum Dracunculus in Quehalost were set up by the wizard to be executed at my hands and without my ability to choose otherwise.”
Eliah swallowed hard and decided to speak at this moment. “So, if the wizard’s plan went off as desired, why did weren’t you protected? How did you discover what you are claiming?”
Ophee smiled at the thought of her friends who were at this very moment scattered around the nation of Tongra telling this very same story to her associates. “The wizard didn’t expect me to be with a significant follower of Reah. That one was able to barely withstand the magic ring that the wizard had given to me. He was able to conjure up a spell that penetrated the shielding that the wizard had used to protect me. Seconds later, when we were all dying, acolytes of Reah showed up and brought us back to safety within their temple. They were able to piece together what happened. When I was revived several days later, they could tell that my memories did not include the act of destruction that I had initiated. Once they determined that I was brainwashed, it was a matter of research and magical testing to find out how it happened. That’s how we learned about the use of the Voodoo Lily.”
Eliah opened his lips to speak, but the words didn’t come. Instead, a single tear trickled down his left check and moistened his goatee. His eyes glanced in the direction of Ophee, but they were focused as if he were looking through her into the unknown.
Ophee grimaced as she empathized with Eliah’s pain. “I know, Eliah. I know what it is like to realize that we’ve been serving a wizard faithfully, but the wizard hasn’t been faithful in return. I know what it is like to realize that at least once I have done something without memory of doing it. I also am faced with the possibility that this is not the first time I have done something without my knowledge. And I know that I am nearly responsible for the death of four of my friends, and I could do nothing to stop it. I know.”
Eliah swallowed hard. “Can the temple of Reah determine if I have been under the effect of Arum Dracunculus? I’d like to know. I’d like to know the truth.”
Ophee smiled and rose to her feet. She knelt beside her friend and placed a hand upon his knee. “We can see. Will you come with me?”
Eliah looked up to Ophee and nodded. Together the rose to their feet and turned to the door. They would seek out the whole truth, together.[/Sblock]
If I keep this up, I won't need to post in my Story Hour...
[Sblock=Lengthy, again]
Ophee had used the crystal ball to find direct path into Partuss and to the bakery near to which Eliah was working. Once she had the route memorized she had Master Searthu teleport her just outside the city limits. Partuss wasn’t a large enough town that walking in would take too long. It would be much easier to not arouse suspicion if she entered the city from the outside than if she had appeared in a back alley like Charis.
She had little trouble finding the bakery. She hadn’t often visited Partuss on her ways to and from Eberdeen, but she had visited it often enough to know where to find the bakery. In order to mask her approach, however, Ophee had Master Searthu teleport her to the less populated northern side of the city. Thus, while she knew where to find the bakery within the city, she was not familiar with the path that she had taken onto the city this time.
Once she found the bakery, she checked inside to see if Eliah had moved from the office to the bakery. The bakery had several patrons inside, but none of them were the red haired, pointy eared man that she sought. Nodding to herself, she turned to the building beside the bakery and found Eliah’s office.
Her knuckles wrapped solidly on the door. “Eliah, it’s Ophee. Open up.”
From behind the closed door Ophee could hear a wooden chair hit the ground. She had apparently caught Eliah leaning back and startled him. Only seconds later the door opened quickly. “Ophee? But, we were told that you were dead! Our master pulled us all back to Eberdeen a few days ago and gave us the news. He told us that you had been killed while stopping an underground slave ring.”
Ophee smiled sarcastically. “The reports of my death have been largely over-exaggerated.”
Eliah laughed at Ophee’s facial expression and comment. “Well, obviously.”
Ophee’s lips parted into a full smile. “No, Eliah, you don’t really understand. Much has been exaggerated. There is no slave ring at all. It was a lie. I need to step inside and tell you.”
Eliah’s smile vanished. “Careful, Opheiluka. You’re trespassing on the sacred ground of employment now. You know the ties and obligations that bind us together. And you know the bondage of the oath of loyalty that we each are expected to hold up with our master.”
Ophee shook her head from side to side. “Eliah, I need to come in. We need to talk, but I’m not talking here in the hallway. It’s just not safe. Someone might overhear.’
Eliah’s eyes narrowed as he focused on Ophee. From her perspective, it appeared as though his hair grew in reddish intensity, although in truth it was the reddening of his facial skin from the increased blood pressure. “Okay, come in and we’ll talk. But promise that you are aware that I take my oaths seriously.”
Ophee nodded in agreement and accepted his invitation. Once she was inside, Ophee turned to Eliah and replied. “Oh, I take my oaths seriously as well. I am loyal to those who demonstrate they desire my loyalty by remaining loyal to me. We’ve been lied to by the wizard in Eberdeen.”
Eliah nearly spat as he replied quickly to Ophee’s accusations. “You’d better explain that accusation quickly, Ophee. Our master has been very good to us. We’re paid well, and so long as we do what we are asked he doesn’t get rid of us. Our tasks aren’t even that hard. It’s a nice job, Ophee. Don’t make me report you in anger rather than reporting with joy to our master that you are still alive.”
Ophee smiled sarcastically once more. “He was satisfied with my death, remember? With all his ability to glean information through us and magic, don’t you think he should have been able to find out if I was alive?” Ophee knew that the temple had been shielded from the wizard in Eberdeen, but she also knew that he had the magic to turn the destroyed barn upside down in the process of looking for remains as well. He had accepted her death far too easily for Ophee’s tastes.
Eliah paused for a moment before replying. “I suppose, but he was grieving, Ophee. You were like a daughter to him.”
Ophee closed her eyes at the memory. She had once felt as if he truly loved her like a father would love a daughter. Now she simply felt betrayed, like a slave who found out that the master’s love was solely based on possession and her ability to be productive. Suddenly she realized that she understood Charis’ past so much better. “You were told that I was killed in the process of destroying a slave ring?” Ophee’s mood and tone had changed. She didn’t want to express the emotion inside of her, so her words come out flat.
Eliah nodded. “We were. We were told that our master was attempting to snuff out a slave ring that he had discovered, and they were operating through Fingerdale. We were told that he had equipped you with a few magical items. Our master said that he had given you the ability to shield yourself from lesser magic. He said that he had also given you the ability to destroy them in a powerful fire. He swore that the item that protected you from lesser magic had been designed to protect you from the same slaughtering fire that would destroy the slavers.”
Ophee laughed. “So how did your master explain my death? If I was protected from everything, how did I die?”
Eliah shrugged his shoulders. “He was very distraught, Ophee. His emotions were blocking his thinking. He said that he didn’t know.”
Ophee laughed at the thought. “When has there ever been anything that your master didn’t know when he would bring us in from the field? Do you honestly believe that your master didn’t know something, especially if it involved someone he supposedly loved like a daughter?”
Eliah swallowed hard. “I don’t know. Like I said, he was upset, Ophee.”
Ophee used her left hand to crack the knuckles in her right hand in one swift motion. “Oh, I don’t doubt that he was upset, Eliah. He was upset because he had lost a slave. I might yet die in the process of destroying a slave ring, but it was no slave ring that he sent me up against.”
Eliah stood up in an agitated fashion, but Ophee merely leaned back in her chair in response. “Oh, sit back down, Eliah. I can explain myself. Why don’t you quite feeling defensive and just listen? If what I say to you doesn’t make sense, I’ll leave.”
Eliah breathed in deeply and then slowly exhaled. “Fine. I’ll sit back down. But you had better have a good story.”
Ophee brought her lips together tightly and thought for several seconds before speaking. As she thought, her head began to bob back and forth and her eyes looked as though they would cry, although they never did bring forth tears. “Listen, Eliah. I’ve recently discovered that our master manipulates the truth that he gives to us. And he does it through very disreputable means. He does it through brainwashing. Can I assume that when you come in for training he always starts with a cup of hot tea as you sit and talk on the sofas in his office?”
Eliah nodded, but didn’t respond. Once Ophee saw the nod, she continued. “I was recently sent on a mission into Quehalost to retrieve a substance called Black Arum. It is also known as Arum Dracunculus, the Stink Lily, and even the Voodoo Lily. The reason it has the last name is because when an excretion from the roots is combined with a bit of magic a toxin is developed. This toxin makes the mind quite pliable. The toxin was probably slipped into our tea, so that your master could implant suggestions while we thought we were being trained. I know that he does it because of the story I’m going to tell you. I collected the Vodoo Lily for him, and didn’t know what I was doing until it was used on me!”
Ophee paused, but Eliah didn’t take the opportunity to ask any questions. Ophee continued her story. “You see, the last time I was brought in for training I was told that I was to seek out and find a slave ring. When I had found the slave ring I was supposed to contact the wizard with information. But he never told me about the magic items with which he had equipped me. He set me up. He only gave me part of the information consciously. The rest of the information he slipped into my mind while I was under the effect of the Arum Dracunculus.”
Once more Ophee paused, and this time she could tell that her story was affecting Eliah. His eyes told her that the seeds of doubt had been sowed. “Eliah, what I am about to tell you is the truth. You see, the wizard put a secret command word into my brain. When the command word was triggered, I lost control of my ability to make my own decisions. When the command word was triggered, I activated a magic ring that I didn’t even know how to use! That right there is proof that I was brainwashed! I nearly slaughtered my friends because the wizard had set me up and wanted them dead. The same friends who had helped him collect the Arum Dracunculus in Quehalost were set up by the wizard to be executed at my hands and without my ability to choose otherwise.”
Eliah swallowed hard and decided to speak at this moment. “So, if the wizard’s plan went off as desired, why did weren’t you protected? How did you discover what you are claiming?”
Ophee smiled at the thought of her friends who were at this very moment scattered around the nation of Tongra telling this very same story to her associates. “The wizard didn’t expect me to be with a significant follower of Reah. That one was able to barely withstand the magic ring that the wizard had given to me. He was able to conjure up a spell that penetrated the shielding that the wizard had used to protect me. Seconds later, when we were all dying, acolytes of Reah showed up and brought us back to safety within their temple. They were able to piece together what happened. When I was revived several days later, they could tell that my memories did not include the act of destruction that I had initiated. Once they determined that I was brainwashed, it was a matter of research and magical testing to find out how it happened. That’s how we learned about the use of the Voodoo Lily.”
Eliah opened his lips to speak, but the words didn’t come. Instead, a single tear trickled down his left check and moistened his goatee. His eyes glanced in the direction of Ophee, but they were focused as if he were looking through her into the unknown.
Ophee grimaced as she empathized with Eliah’s pain. “I know, Eliah. I know what it is like to realize that we’ve been serving a wizard faithfully, but the wizard hasn’t been faithful in return. I know what it is like to realize that at least once I have done something without memory of doing it. I also am faced with the possibility that this is not the first time I have done something without my knowledge. And I know that I am nearly responsible for the death of four of my friends, and I could do nothing to stop it. I know.”
Eliah swallowed hard. “Can the temple of Reah determine if I have been under the effect of Arum Dracunculus? I’d like to know. I’d like to know the truth.”
Ophee smiled and rose to her feet. She knelt beside her friend and placed a hand upon his knee. “We can see. Will you come with me?”
Eliah looked up to Ophee and nodded. Together the rose to their feet and turned to the door. They would seek out the whole truth, together.[/Sblock]
If I keep this up, I won't need to post in my Story Hour...
PallidPatience
First Post
CTRL-V said:
They what?! WHAT?!
Angel Tarragon
Dawn Dragon
Dance of the flautist.werk said:Having this on my clipboard...I just had to share.
It made me chuckle.
