|
 I'm a warrior seeking peace and an end to bloodshed. I'm on a pilgrimage to the Temple to No Gods in the distant City of Gulls. I have vast and deadly patience and the summoning-name of a ghost burned into my memory. My pilgrimage has brought me to the Jaggedlands, inhabited by followers of a grim torturer-devil. My goal is to pass safely through and continue on my pilgrimage. You, Game Room people, play the world. Your goal is to see me to my doom, instead of safely on my way. You're allowed only to directly answer my direct questions, though, so you might not be able to do it. The rules:
– Two weeks have I traveled through nameless wastes. I endured hunger and eluded the attention of predators to reach the Jaggedlands. Under a dead tree's leafless branches I sit, taking a moment to drink from my rubber waterskin. Something warns me of approaching danger. What warns me? Anyone should answer.
|
#
?
Jul 27, 2016 00:05
|
|
|
|
| # ? Apr 25, 2024 21:52 |
|
|
You hear the laughter of children echo around you.
|
|
#
?
Jul 27, 2016 00:23
|
|
|
No gods watch over you.
|
|
#
?
Jul 27, 2016 00:32
|
|
|
UnCO3 posted:No gods watch over you. sorry is this something I should have posted or only if I plan to lurk?
|
|
#
?
Jul 27, 2016 00:55
|
|
|
JimsonTheBetrayer posted:sorry is this something I should have posted or only if I plan to lurk? Only if you want to let me know you're reading, but haven't written an answer (yet). JimsonTheBetrayer posted:You hear the laughter of children echo around you. Never am I alone, though always lonely. Quickly but carefully I seal my waterskin, then sling it over my shoulder. I stand, alert and anxious, peering out at the Jaggedlands terrain before me. The laughter is not the only sound I hear. What do I hear approaching from the distance? Anyone should answer. I may need to run or hide. What path do I see should I need to flee? Anyone should answer.
|
|
#
?
Jul 27, 2016 00:59
|
|
|
ibntumart posted:I may need to run or hide. What path do I see should I need to flee? Anyone should answer. You see erupted chunks of the black earth of yesteryear provide a servicable shelter from both the wind and prying eyes.
|
|
#
?
Jul 27, 2016 01:10
|
|
|
ibntumart posted:What do I hear approaching from the distance? Anyone should answer.
|
|
#
?
Jul 27, 2016 02:05
|
|
|
The music likely celebrates nothing a decent person would want to be part of. And well know I what uses the torturer-devil's followers put their blades to. I wedge myself into the outcropping, pressing against the tough stone and cold metal. I am safe from the wind perhaps, and from sight for now, but I will not be able to stay hidden for long. I must take stock of my surroundings and plan to move. What evidence do I see of those who have traveled this path before me? Anyone may answer.
|
|
#
?
Jul 27, 2016 03:06
|
|
|
ibntumart posted:
No gods watch over you, for further up the the path you see a small stone slab errected into a makeshift altar. The table is splashed with blood and the bones of small birds and vermin litter the area. The words rough hewn onto the base of the shrine can only be read on one section - "..ceed... sacrifice..."
|
|
#
?
Jul 27, 2016 03:16
|
|
|
No gods watch over you.
|
|
#
?
Jul 27, 2016 04:23
|
|
|
Those who live here prey on whatever bleeds, it seems. I must make sure I do not adorn an altar myself. But that means balancing speed with watchfulness... a daunting task in such bleak lands.I shall press on. What do I not notice hiding nearby until I turn away from the altar? Anyone may answer. What is the most noticeable landmark in the distance before me? Anyone may answer.
|
|
#
?
Jul 27, 2016 09:03
|
|
|
ibntumart posted:What do I not notice hiding nearby until I turn away from the altar? Anyone may answer. It seems the bloody altar has attracted one of the beasts roaming these lands. It watches you carefully with a multitude of eyes, its body a mass of writhing tendrils surrounding a gaping maw. As it approaches slowly, curiously, the sound of children's laughter swells up to an unbearable volume. It extends a probing tendril.
|
|
#
?
Jul 27, 2016 10:28
|
|
|
ibntumart posted:What is the most noticeable landmark in the distance before me? Anyone may answer.
|
|
#
?
Jul 27, 2016 12:33
|
|
|
No gods watch over you.
|
|
#
?
Jul 27, 2016 12:56
|
|
|
UnCO3 posted:A tall splinter of rock, atop which it seems a mirror is throwing light in your direction, then flitting elsewhere, then back again. Curious. Evidence of someone or thing intelligent watching me... or perhaps a trick of nature. Fathis Munk posted:It seems the bloody altar has attracted one of the beasts roaming these lands. It watches you carefully with a multitude of eyes, its body a mass of writhing tendrils surrounding a gaping maw. My muscles tense, ready to spirit me away or fling myself at the beast. A forbidden name tries to escape my lips, but I force my mouth shut. What around me would serve best as a weapon, if anything? Anyone should answer. Do I have time to avoid the tendril? Anyone should answer.
|
|
#
?
Jul 27, 2016 13:14
|
|
|
ibntumart posted:Do I have time to avoid the tendril? Anyone should answer. A decision needs to be made immediately. Your pack weighs heavily upon you. With the quick maneuvers required you fear you may lose some it's contents.
|
|
#
?
Jul 27, 2016 13:20
|
|
|
ibntumart posted:What around me would serve best as a weapon, if anything? Anyone should answer. A jagged obsidian blade lies discarded near your feet, no doubt the foul blade used at the altar.
|
|
#
?
Jul 27, 2016 13:21
|
|
|
The loss of my pack will make surviving my trek much more difficult, but I may die now if I don't sacrifice it. Swiftly I slide it off my shoulder and fling it at the disturbing creature, hoping to distract it. Do I have a chance to flee? Anyone should answer.
|
|
#
?
Jul 27, 2016 18:59
|
|
|
Yes, but the sound of bone-flutes, boisterous chanting, and sharpened iron echoes around the boulders.
|
|
#
?
Jul 27, 2016 19:15
|
|
|
Then I should hurry. Taking advantage of the distraction, I grab the obsidian blade and scurry away from the curious beast. I stop minutes later, catching my breath and taking stock of the land around me. What is the most distinctive feature of the Jaggedlands terrain? Anyone should answer. What did the Last Hierophant advise me to avoid should I become lost? Anyone should answer.
|
|
#
?
Jul 27, 2016 22:48
|
|
|
ibntumart posted:What did the Last Hierophant advise me to avoid should I become lost? Anyone should answer. They advised you to avoid the original sin of man. Pride.
|
|
#
?
Jul 27, 2016 22:53
|
|
|
ibntumart posted:What is the most distinctive feature of the Jaggedlands terrain? Anyone should answer. Earthquakes often strike the jagged lands, this causes plates to rise up and fall down making any path shift as new cliffs or clefts appear. Some say an ancient demon was buried beneath the JaggedLands in an attempt to imprison it and the earthquakes are it struggling against the bonds to break free.
|
|
#
?
Jul 28, 2016 06:46
|
|
|
JimsonTheBetrayer posted:They advised you to avoid the original sin of man. Pride. Dignity can come at the cost of death. I hope I'll not have to pay that price. Apocron posted:Earthquakes often strike the jagged lands, this causes plates to rise up and fall down making any path shift as new cliffs or clefts appear. Some say an ancient demon was buried beneath the JaggedLands in an attempt to imprison it and the earthquakes are it struggling against the bonds to break free. No map can ever be made of the Jaggedlands. Only those who make it their home can ever know its secrets. But I have no time for woolgathering now. I see two paths and must decide my way. What do I see coming down the flat and clear path? Anyone should answer. What obstacle will hinder me on the other path? Anyone should answer.
|
|
#
?
Jul 28, 2016 17:02
|
|
|
ibntumart posted:What obstacle will hinder me on the other path? Anyone should answer.
|
|
#
?
Jul 28, 2016 17:24
|
|
|
ibntumart posted:What do I see coming down the flat and clear path? Anyone should answer. An old man with a kind face beckons you towards him. He smiles and his teeth are bleached white. When you turn your head, though, when you glance at him out of the corner of your eye, there is no man. There is nothing but a dark blemish floating in the air.
|
|
#
?
Jul 28, 2016 18:41
|
|
|
The restless dead can be countered only with power I dread. I go down the path of the broken wagon, hoping the shade of the old man cannot follow. With caution I approach the broken wagon and scattered corpses. Maybe I can replenish my supplies. What useful thing do I discover? Anyone should answer. What hidden danger do I miss? Anyone should answer.
|
|
#
?
Jul 28, 2016 20:28
|
|
|
ibntumart posted:What useful thing do I discover? Anyone should answer. You discover the recent corpse of a follower of the neophytes. Renowned for their medical supplies. Sure enough you find a vial of the foul smelling green tincture they use to ward off infection.
|
|
#
?
Jul 28, 2016 22:23
|
|
|
ibntumart posted:What hidden danger do I miss? Anyone should answer. The dead do not move on easy in the Jaggedlands. The spirits of those who were slaughtered still remain. And they are hateful towards the living.
|
|
#
?
Jul 28, 2016 22:56
|
|
|
JimsonTheBetrayer posted:You discover the recent corpse of a follower of the neophytes. Renowned for their medical supplies. Sure enough you find a vial of the foul smelling green tincture they use to ward off infection. I slip the vial into a pouch, hoping I will not have to use it. Tyrannosaurus posted:The dead do not move on easy in the Jaggedlands. The spirits of those who were slaughtered still remain. And they are hateful towards the living. My search has distracted me, it seems. A still corpse does not always mean a quiet spirit. I stop my looting and look about. Do the hateful spirits notice me yet? Anyone should answer.
|
|
#
?
Jul 28, 2016 23:44
|
|
|
ibntumart posted:Do the hateful spirits notice me yet? Anyone should answer. Stealing from the dead hardly screams stealth. They have noticed you and begin to coelesce over your head.
|
|
#
?
Jul 29, 2016 00:01
|
|
|
My curiosity may wind up my doom. But no time for regret now. If I cannot evade these spirits, I will have to find a way to fight them. Can I get past the spirits before they finish taking shape? Anyone should answer.
|
|
#
?
Jul 29, 2016 00:23
|
|
|
No; they ignite under the sun. Flames in the shapes of men grasp at you from all directions and the hairs on your skin writhe and turn away.
|
|
#
?
Jul 29, 2016 01:29
|
|
|
I might be able to drive them away. The burning name wants to escape my throat, but I master my words and merely threaten the spirits instead. "Hear me and take heed: I know the shadow speech, the chaining words for the dead who do not die. Away with you if you desire your freedom!" Do the spirits withdraw and give me the opportunity to escape? Anyone should answer.
|
|
#
?
Jul 29, 2016 01:53
|
|
|
ibntumart posted:Do the spirits withdraw and give me the opportunity to escape? Anyone should answer. Fortunately these are the spirits of simple traders, the threat of a fate worse than death is enough to scare them. At the mention of the shadow words and chaining speech they withdraw throwing curses your way . The next undead you encounter may not be so easily intimidated.
|
|
#
?
Jul 29, 2016 05:02
|
|
|
I waste no time and hurry past these easily frightened ghosts. The tower still beckons me from the distance and the path seems to lead where I want to go. But the stones are sharp and many, and sturdy though my boots are, still I feel every step as I march through the bleak shrub-lands. From a small hillock bedececked in brown grass and leafless trees, I catch my breath, then drink my water. But though I was careful not to be followed, and looked to be sure nothing lurked nearby, I forgot that the sky also has its evils. What do I see approach me from behind the dark clouds overhead? Anyone may answer.
|
|
#
?
Jul 29, 2016 10:34
|
|
|
Winged people armed with cruel swords of iron, bound by long chains to something above the cloud layer.
|
|
#
?
Jul 29, 2016 10:44
|
|
|
A disturbing sight. Surely they are kept chained for a good reason, though they may have enough give to reach me. If I were fool enough to stay where I am, at least. Do I see a place I could hide? Anyone should answer.
|
|
#
?
Jul 29, 2016 11:24
|
|
|
There is a crack in the ground not far from you. Surely their chains will not extend beneath the Earth. However everyone knows that to go below ground invites terrible misfortune.
|
|
#
?
Jul 29, 2016 14:11
|
|
|
Let it be known that no gods watch over you. Perhaps that is for the best...
|
|
#
?
Jul 30, 2016 14:36
|
|
|
|
| # ? Apr 25, 2024 21:52 |
|
|
The world below is but a gateway to the abode of the dead. All shall travel there someday... but I won't do it voluntarily. I catch my breath, then hurl myself from the hillock and race along the sloping plains. May my legs be strong and my eyes sharp. Do I find a hiding place before the winged people see me? Anyone should answer.
|
|
#
?
Jul 31, 2016 07:56
|
|