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UnCO3
Feb 11, 2010

Ye gods!

College Slice

quote:

Glory Fades
Gods Laugh
Worlds Crumble
Time Devours
This is a game of The Skeletons for the following players (in the order we’ll play Intruders) starting from this setup thread:
  • Rather Watch Them, playing Tattered Cloak
  • Fathis Munk, playing Headless
  • AJ_Impy, playing Rusted Shirt
  • RandallODim, playing Horror
  • UnCO3, playing Arrow-shield


Here is the tomb these trapped souls guard:
  1. The tomb is deliberately hostile in its construction - the whole place has been hewn from solid rock with not a single tile laid down, and yet it is slightly tiled on its axis and every stair is uneven, to catch unwary robbers and set them on unfair ground. Despite this threat to robbers, there are two clear entrances, one on each side of the mountain.
  2. The heat of the mountain sustains a bizarre symbiosis of cave moss and lichen that shrinks from the light of the sun and flourishes in the deepest chamber.
  3. The entrance chamber is exquisitely carved with undulations and channels that guide the air that moves through it. When the tomb is sealed, the room is silent, but when the seal is broken, the wind creates eerie noises that rush through the winding halls and herald the intruders.
  4. There is a vertical shaft in one of the rooms that leads all the way to the surface. Beneath it lies a small lump of dull metal. Despite the magic compelling the skeletons to respond to any intrusion, they did not react in any way to this substance.
  5. There is a chamber in the tomb with no physical entrance or exit.
  6. There are multiple sarcophagi and it is unclear which, if any or all, contain the person of status whom this place was built to protect (or restrain). One has a stunningly crafted bronze mirror set in the lid - to see one's reflection is deeply harrowing for some reason. The lid of another rises and falls as if breathing. The third and final is unnaturally hot to the touch.
Furthermore:

Rather Watch Them posted:

Who are interred in the seven niches along the southern wall?

The seven who made this place
Ordered by the honored lord
Picking and scraping at stone
Branching and meandering
North to south for untold years
The end was their resting place
Seven madmen, seven holes

Note: The seven niches line the walls of the Southern entryway.

AJ_Impy posted:

What magnificent and imposing object dominates the western wall of the tomb?

It is a vast, tall stele of black marble, triangular in cross-section. On each face is inscribed in every tongue known to the Builders what to do if one of the sarcophagi are opened.

Note: The stele lies in the Western wall of the Western chamber.

Fathis Munk posted:

What scene is depicted in the fresco that covers the eastern wall?

If one was to remove the moss and lichen, they could see a faceless armed mob opposed by a mighty hermaphroditic three headed figure. One mouth is pursed, blowing a curlicuing wind. The second is wide open, jagged flames springing forth. The last mouth is contorted into an unnerving rictus. The winds and flames are wreaking havoc amidst the horde of enemies. Some are charred, some are thrown away and the back ranks are starting to falter and break.

It is unclear whether this is meant to be in remembrance or warning.

Note: The fresco lines the Eastern wall of the Eastern chamber.

RandallODim posted:

What subtle things in this place speak to a purpose far, far beyond honoring the noble dead? Note your answer on the map.

One sarcophagus holds not a body, but access to the solitary room below.

UnCO3 posted:

What amazing treasure lies well hidden in the tomb, and where, and how?

A brilliant blade, flashy, but useless. However, only the rightful heir can hold it. Anyone else finds that it burns their hand.

It is impaled into solid rock in the secret chamber.

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UnCO3
Feb 11, 2010

Ye gods!

College Slice
ARISE AND PROTECT THE TOMB, SKELETAL GUARDIANS

quote:

Offerings

A dozen people, dressed in white linen. They have come to die, and you will grant them their wish, either with regret, or like butchers in a slaughterhouse. Did they come of their own volition? Are they drugged? Are they young or old, men or women, boys or girls? Will their sacrifice make a difference? Everyone can answer one question if they wish. Choose once on either the Glory Fades or Gods Laugh table.
The seals are broken and the sacrifices are driven in at spearpoint, half a dozen to the North and another half dozen to the South, and instantly the wind and wailing reverberate around the entryways and through the channels of the tomb, waking you all from dreamless sleep.

Their wrists are red and bloody from iron manacles that they wore until only recently, and they are tossed crude weapons before the great boulders are rolled back into place. A few desperate and quick people among them almost get crushed as they dart back for one last ray of red, dust-choked sunlight.

One by one they pick up the weapons, hesitantly, angrily, plainly, and wait for the coming of the tomb guardians. Sacrifices, one and all. They’re dressed in uniform white linens, but other than that they seem to share nothing. One dozen sacrifices, but for whom?

Where does everyone stand guard?

What do you do?

Fathis Munk
Feb 23, 2013

??? ?
Headless


The winds find me lying in the small room with the lump of starmetal. As always I had lain down with my broken top vertebra touching the cold metal, hoping that someday they would meld and restore my lost head. Why else would the gods have sent this gift to our tomb. Alas, as I stand up it stays behind.

As I draw closer to the tombs entrance, I feel the desperation of the intruders. Even without nose, I can smell their despair, even without ears I can hear their uncertainty. It makes me angry.

I was part of the first wave of sacrifices, at the time it was a great honor for us. As a reward for my dedication to the gods I had been chosen to lead the group and we embraced our fate. These sorry excuses for sacrifices where unworthy but they would have to do. I pray to the gods they will, as I round the final corner and tighten my skeletal grip on my mace.

Answering: What connection do you have to those you’ve just killed or driven away? What memory did they evoke?

Double May Care
Mar 28, 2012

We need Dragon-type Pokemon to help us prepare our food before we cook it. We're not sure why!

Tattered Cloak



Somber snoring stone drowned out
By the familiar cacophony of moaning tubes,
Waking the garbed guard again

The painted behemoth
Glares with six eyes down to earth,
First sight of the eyeless one
Always

Their eyes stare at something
Beyond nature's transgression
Enraged, pained, casting judgment
Now only on their servant
Or their quarry

Intruders gazing at the six eyes
Spill guilt at their feet
Extracted by the righteous blade

The blood standard
Dyed burgundy once more
With societal debts paid,
Justice done

What byname did you earn in life that describes your greatest accomplishment?

The tattered cloak guards the east chamber. They recall the name Blood Standard, for the cloak which was once sopping in blood, as well as the executioner who bore it.

They will, of course, engage any intruders who enter the chamber.

Double May Care fucked around with this message at 23:14 on Nov 16, 2018

AJ_Impy
Jun 17, 2007

SWORD OF SMATTAS. CAN YOU NOT HEAR A WORLD CRY OUT FOR JUSTICE? WHEN WILL YOU DELIVER IT?
Yam Slacker
Rusted Shirt


Between the stele and the sarcophagus do I hold my eternal vigil, in the western chamber.

Unceasing
Unchanging.
Unaware.

The howls of the broken seals herald the entrance of the living to the tomb.

So it was before our time.
So it was in our time.
So it is, as we keep watch with sightless sockets.

Once I lived, and was like them. I was of the first wave of sacrifices, the great endeavour to see this place guarded as it should be.
We knew our lives would end, but if we were worthy our existence would not. I was proud, and considered myself the most worthy.
I was passed over for leadership, my rival granted that honour.
We battled within the tomb, all of us that were to die.
We battled within the tomb, all of us that were to stand undying.
The head of their mace ruined my viscera.
The haft of my spear shattered their skull.
Yet we were both worthy.

A new wave of sacrifices.
There have been many.
There will be many.
None shall be more worthy.

To the north I go,
Spear hefted and ready.
Unworthy blood shall be spilt.

Who here among the skeletons was once a great rival of yours, and in what endeavor?

UnCO3
Feb 11, 2010

Ye gods!

College Slice
Headless
As you round the corner you see a figure in white, edging and groping down the passage until they spot you in the dim red light. Then, they scream, and then, so do the rest. The piercing noise reverberates through the entryway the other sacrifices must be in, and through the rest of the tomb. A great and distant sixfold wailing responds from the other entrance on the Northern side of the mountain.

What do you do?

-

Tattered Cloak
At first you hear the tentative sounds of sacrifices blindly stumbling and creeping through the dark passages, but then a great scream rises from the South and, as if in response, another cry comes from the North, both amplified by the strange carvings in each room. The footsteps stop. It seems the intruders will not willingly come your way.

What do you do?

-

Rusted Shirt
You make your way towards the whimpering, and the scraping of grit underfoot - then, just as you're about to round the corner to the junction leading to the North and East, a great scream reverberates from the Southern entryway and all else near you goes silent. You tread into view of the sacrifices, and they wail wordlessly and flee back the way they came. It is a dead end.

What do you do?

UnCO3 fucked around with this message at 08:59 on Nov 20, 2018

AJ_Impy
Jun 17, 2007

SWORD OF SMATTAS. CAN YOU NOT HEAR A WORLD CRY OUT FOR JUSTICE? WHEN WILL YOU DELIVER IT?
Yam Slacker
Rusted Shirt


Cowardice.
Not one raises a blade.
Not one even tries to cover the retreat.

Have they not been told?
Are they truly unaware of their fate?
Or do they lack the mettle to meet death with weapon in hand?

None of these are worthy.
None of these shall join us in the eternal vigil.
None of these shall stand guard for all the world.

Only one act. To inexorably advance upon them. Corner them. See if any have a hint of fire in them.
Only one duty. The worthy rise through death. The unworthy will be as dust. Either case, at the point of my spear.
Only one outcome. There will be an abundance of dust.

Who here among the skeletons was once a great rival of yours, and in what endeavor?
I killed Headless and vice versa when we were sacrifices, for holy glory and honour.

Fathis Munk
Feb 23, 2013

??? ?
Headless


As they see me they start to scream. I do not know if anyone has actually told them what awaited them in here. I hope no one did, that way their abysmal failure might be excusable. A second set of screams rises up in the tomb, it must be my murderer back at his task. He always seems to do his duty with hate and contempt, he does not understand. I think that is why I was chosen in the end.

I hold up my old holy symbol, one last chance of redemption for the sacrifices. Will they kneel and pray and accept their fate, will they finally show themselves worthy? If so, may the gods have mercy on them. It will certainly not save their lives, nothing can, but it might save their souls.

I raise my mace, prepare to deal a killing blow and await the sacrifices' reaction.

What connection do you have to those you’ve just killed or driven away? What memory did they evoke?
I was part of the first wave of sacrifices, at the time it was a great honor for us.

Double May Care
Mar 28, 2012

We need Dragon-type Pokemon to help us prepare our food before we cook it. We're not sure why!

Tattered Cloak



screams, blood-curdling
and nothing more
"Paralyzed with fear, I'm afraid."
fear not
should they stagnate
I may stir them yet

"This way."
each step seeps oozing muck
(be it inside or out)
as I approach the prisoners
"Let me out!"
I will oblige

I pierce the threshold
to the huddled horrified masses
(be they armed or no)
they cry once more
"Monster!"

I recall that day
I shed my skin
I became a tool
(I withdrew to my verse)
I killed them all
I set the standard
"You have been sentenced."

how uncanny
my history
becomes eternity
"Blood is the price."

The tattered cloak will enter the south entrance and strike as many as necessary.

What byname did you earn in life that describes your greatest accomplishment?
Blood Standard, a name for the cloak which was once sopping in blood, as well as the executioner who bore it.

RandallODim
Dec 30, 2010

Another 1? Aww man...
Horror



Hollow sockets gaze from the dark as the Blood Standard begins its work once again in the south entrance. A Small Thing, it waits, watching; will any of this group move deeper? The Small Thing does not know why it waits for this. But perhaps these sacrifices carry answers in their blood.

What were you called?
The Small Thing, for I was small and singular in this tomb and world.

UnCO3
Feb 11, 2010

Ye gods!

College Slice
Rusted Shirt
Northern Entryway

You corner the six of them, your unnatural presence driving them back against the boulder. For a moment all is silent but their panicked breathing and your bones clicking on stone, and then - finally - one of them plucks up the mad, desperate courage to charge, sword raised, and swing for your skull.

Fortune is not on their side, however. The uneven floor has them off balance and they slip, cut their sole open on a jagged piece of rock, stagger, and fall. Their sword clatters out of reach. One look up at your inexorable advance is all else that's needed to drain their bravado away.

You might be able to kill them here. They scrabble backwards in fear. What do you do?

-

Headless
Southern Entryway

One of the sacrifices tears free from the quailing mass of the others and uses the brief moment you offer to try and strike you down with a blunt spear. She plants her feet firmly on the ground, despite how uneven it is, and thrusts straight for your sternum - but only manages to get the old, ungainly weapon caught in your ribcage.

She might be able to fight free. She frantically wrenches the spear around, trying to knock or drag you off your feet. What do you do?

-

Blood Standard
Southern Entryway

You hurry after Headless, terrifying the sacrifices with your vigour in contrast with your companion's horrible determination. Your first blow catches an old man in the gut and he folds, blood bubbling from his mouth. Another wriggles free from the mass and makes a break for it, but the rest cower and scream.

You might be able to kill the three cowering sacrifices here. They huddle together, desperately trying not to be as far away from you as possible. What do you do?

-

The Small Thing
Southern Entryway

One sacrifice has broken away from the mass in the Southern entrance and fled deeper into the tomb, darting this way and that until, stumbling over the uneven stonecuttings, disappearing from view.

What do you do?

-

The Sacrifices
In the Southern Entryway:
1 is engaged in combat with Headless
3 are cowering before Blood Standard
1 is dead

In the Northern Entryway
1 is at the mercy of Rusted Shirt
5 are cowering, cornered

Elsewhere in the tomb:
1 has fled

AJ_Impy
Jun 17, 2007

SWORD OF SMATTAS. CAN YOU NOT HEAR A WORLD CRY OUT FOR JUSTICE? WHEN WILL YOU DELIVER IT?
Yam Slacker
Rusted Shirt


Finally, one shows some fight.
Perhaps they are worthy after... oh.
That's just embarrassing.

The bravery of the cornered rat is not enough.
There needs to be basic competence as well.
You have had your chance.

The attempt will earn a quick death.
That is the extent of the mercy I am permitted
One swift stab between the 4th and 5th ribs.

Heart bursts.
Life fades.
Sacrifice fulfilled.

Five cowering wretches.
The sword on the ground between us.
Some still have weapons.

I twirl the spear into the ready position.
Ribbons of heart's blood through the air.
Anoint them with an echo of his bravery.

Will there be a battle?
Will there be a slaughter?
Can they tell the difference?

In either case, I advance.
In either case, I will do my duty.
In either case, I do not hesitate.

Who here among the skeletons was once a great rival of yours, and in what endeavor?
I killed Headless and vice versa when we were sacrifices, for holy glory and honour.

Double May Care
Mar 28, 2012

We need Dragon-type Pokemon to help us prepare our food before we cook it. We're not sure why!

Tattered Cloak



three cowards
scrambling to escape
fools

you have everything you need
to stop what is coming
fight

you know you can
unless you need more motivation
than has already been given

disgusting cowards
how quickly my blade will undo you

No mercy. Kill them all.

What byname did you earn in life that describes your greatest accomplishment?
Blood Standard, a name for the cloak which was once sopping in blood, as well as the executioner who bore it.

Fathis Munk
Feb 23, 2013

??? ?
Headless


I offer them redemption and instead this cur dares to try and strike me? In a fit of righteous anger I throw my holy sign at her and grasp the haft of the spear with my now empty hand. My right arm raises and I attempt to shatter the spear with a blow of my mace.

The time for salvation has passed, now comes the time of caved-in skulls.

What connection do you have to those you’ve just killed or driven away? What memory did they evoke?
I was part of the first wave of sacrifices, at the time it was a great honor for us.

UnCO3
Feb 11, 2010

Ye gods!

College Slice
Rusted Shirt
Northern Entryway

Distant, yet amplified screams cut the air before they too are cut. The others have drawn first blood, but you're not far behind. Five more remain at your mercy, silent, some weeping, others glancing at each other as if to say... something.

Then, in a drawn-out chain of locomotion, the mob drags and hurls itself forward to attack you as one.

Some of them might be able to fight free. They claw at you in desperation, pulling on your shirt and spear, prying at your joints, and rattling your bones. What do you do?

-

Blood Standard
Southern Entryway

The three sacrifices perish quickly, messily, and loudly. Behind you, Headless still struggles with the one fighter among them, but she makes a break for it and disappears from sight.

What do you do?

-

Headless
Southern Entryway

She gasps, blocks the holy symbol with one hand and drives the spear into you with the other even as you grab it, then lets go and darts back. You smash the spear, but she remains - and races past you, into the tomb.

What do you do?

-

The Sacrifices
In the Southern Entryway:
4 are dead

In the Northern Entryway
5 are mobbing Rusted Shirt
1 is dead

Elsewhere in the tomb:
2 have fled

Fathis Munk
Feb 23, 2013

??? ?
Headless


The holy symbol clatters to the ground and the heathen dashes past me. I pull the head of the spear from my rips and follow the echoes of her footsteps deeper into the tomb, both weapons at the ready.

I will need to retrieve my holy item later, the situation calls for actions rather than symbols.

What connection do you have to those you’ve just killed or driven away? What memory did they evoke?
I was part of the first wave of sacrifices, at the time it was a great honor for us.

AJ_Impy
Jun 17, 2007

SWORD OF SMATTAS. CAN YOU NOT HEAR A WORLD CRY OUT FOR JUSTICE? WHEN WILL YOU DELIVER IT?
Yam Slacker
Rusted Shirt


This is more like it!
Teamwork, cooperation, cohesion.
They do honour to their station.

No sacrifice should die a coward's death.
It pleases me that the old ways are at last respected.
Their deaths will be quick.

Target rich environment.
Soft flesh, little armour.
All of them close in.

Phalanges as weapons.
Jabbing finger bones through eyes into the brain
Their proximity is their undoing.

I try to grant them swift ends.
Granting them any ends matters more.
If they disengage the spear awaits them.

There can be no escape.
There can be no hope.
There can be no victory.

They have fought bravely and in unity.
They have acquitted themselves with honour at the last.
They die as warriors, contributors to the sanctity of the tomb.

Who here among the skeletons was once a great rival of yours, and in what endeavor?
I killed Headless and vice versa when we were sacrifices, for holy glory and honour.

Double May Care
Mar 28, 2012

We need Dragon-type Pokemon to help us prepare our food before we cook it. We're not sure why!

Tattered Cloak



the blood runs
guilty souls have been brought to justice
all but one

the survivor runs
our task is not complete while they yet live
the bloodshed continues

i run
through the corridors to my resting spot
they fled there i'm sure

Moving into the East Chamber, searching.

What byname did you earn in life that describes your greatest accomplishment?
Blood Standard, a name for the cloak which was once sopping in blood, as well as the executioner who bore it.

Double May Care fucked around with this message at 00:40 on Nov 30, 2018

UnCO3
Feb 11, 2010

Ye gods!

College Slice
Headless
Western Chamber

You follow after her, tracking her footsteps to the Western Chamber. Here you catch her ducking into the steep passage down to the Central Chamber - just the sight of you leads her to sprint down the stairs, deftly making her way into the red gloom. Before you can follow her, two more sacrifices in bloodstained linen scramble into view from the North - and freeze when they spot you. Here is live prey, but the one who fought back, the one who escaped, is deeper in the tomb.

What do you do?

-

Rusted Shirt
Northern Entryway

You gouge out eyes and bash skulls, but they sweep your feet and send you clattering to the floor, and then--

GODS LAUGH

The shaft of your spear shatters under their weight, impaling two of them in its last moment. All you have left are splinters, fragments, and the spearhead. Another two sacrifices flee in the roiling confusion, leaving their unlucky compatriot to face you alone, armed only with a misshapen mace.

He might be able to fight free. He swings down at you with a half-roar, half-scream of terror. What do you do?

-

Blood Standard
Eastern Chamber

You retrace your steps, hoping to find the woman Headless was fighting, but instead stumble upon the young man who fled at first sight. He turns when he hears you enter, then scrabbles on the floor for a rock, a stone, a pebble, anything. Elsewhere in the tomb the both of you hear screams - of agony or of rage, it's hard to tell.

What do you do?

-

The Sacrifices
In the Southern Entryway:
4 are dead

In the Northern Entryway
1 is fighting Rusted Shirt
3 are dead

In the Eastern Chamber:
1 is searching for a weapon

In the Central Chamber:
1 is making their way down

Elsewhere in the tomb:
2 have fled from the Northern Entryway

AJ_Impy
Jun 17, 2007

SWORD OF SMATTAS. CAN YOU NOT HEAR A WORLD CRY OUT FOR JUSTICE? WHEN WILL YOU DELIVER IT?
Yam Slacker
Rusted Shirt


My spear has broken.
I took it into the tomb, it ended here.
Such is the way of all things.

One sacrifice with a mace.
I'm guessing an overhanded swing
Yes, there it is.

Momentum and leverage.
They can cut both ways.
Speaking of, the sword the first fighter dropped.

Grab it, angle it up
Rising blade meets falling arm
The weight of the mace does the rest.

Roar of anger
Scream of terror
Wail of agony.

Uncomprehending eyes behold a bleeding stump.
One more slash of the blade across the neck
Empty sockets behold a bleeding stump.

Two have fled
The inevitable is not delayed long.
I am not the only guardian.

To the westward chamber.
None can hide from us.
We only rest when they are dead.

Who here among the skeletons was once a great rival of yours, and in what endeavor?
I killed Headless and vice versa when we were sacrifices, for holy glory and honour.

Fathis Munk
Feb 23, 2013

??? ?
Headless


Two more souls that might still be saved! I curse myself for leaving the holy symbol behind. I stop my pursuit, I know my brethren will track the runner down, they are experts at bloodshed and death. Her chance has passed, but these two might still be redeemed, that is my domain of expertise.

I hold out the mace and broken spear, crossing them in a crude imitation of a holy symbol. With a bit of luck they will understand what it stands for. This is their chance for a quick death and an eternal salvation.


What connection do you have to those you’ve just killed or driven away? What memory did they evoke?
I was part of the first wave of sacrifices, at the time it was a great honor for us.

Double May Care
Mar 28, 2012

We need Dragon-type Pokemon to help us prepare our food before we cook it. We're not sure why!

Tattered Cloak



The lords judge from on high.

i drag my blade along the wall
he takes to the ground
embracing the soil he may yet join
in search of vain salvation

hunter and prey
one prowling...
one s c o u r i n g

(SCREAM)

he cranes to track the source
i lunge for his neck

The stone snores beside us.

What byname did you earn in life that describes your greatest accomplishment?
Blood Standard, a name for the cloak which was once sopping in blood, as well as the executioner who bore it.

UnCO3
Feb 11, 2010

Ye gods!

College Slice
Rusted Shirt
Western Chamber

You arrive just in time to see the two escapees leap forward to attack your old rival Headless, whose course has taken them to the Western chamber. Their survival seems... unlikely.

What do you do?

-

Headless
Western Chamber

The two gasp, perhaps at the holy symbol you make, perhaps in fright at the sight of you, perhaps in despair at the realisation that the ordinary rules of life do not apply here and that destroying the skull is fruitless. Only one is armed, but after a glance behind at the noise of another approaching skeleton they tentatively step into range - one forward, with the sword she holds, the other around to your side, cursing with every step on the uneven floor.

You might be able to kill them here. They lunge forward, but tread askew and miss their mark. What do you do?

-

Blood Standard
Eastern Chamber

You stab, but he catches the glint of your blade and throws himself back, crying out as he lands painfully on the stone floor.

He might be able to get away. His retaliation is desperate - he throws grit, dust, and other minutiae of the centuries up against you to block your vision. What do you do?

-

The Sacrifices
In the Southern Entryway:
4 are dead

In the Northern Entryway:
4 are dead

In the Eastern Chamber:
1 is fighting Blood Standard

In the Western Chamber:
2 are fighting Headless

In the Central Chamber:
1 sacrifice remains

Fathis Munk
Feb 23, 2013

??? ?
Headless


It seems that salvation was not meant to be today. The gods know I have tried and given all of these heathens the chance to save themselves. I cannot do it for them.

As the two new sacrifices ignore my offer of peace, I strike them down as they miss their blows.


What connection do you have to those you’ve just killed or driven away? What memory did they evoke?
I was part of the first wave of sacrifices, at the time it was a great honor for us.

AJ_Impy
Jun 17, 2007

SWORD OF SMATTAS. CAN YOU NOT HEAR A WORLD CRY OUT FOR JUSTICE? WHEN WILL YOU DELIVER IT?
Yam Slacker
Rusted Shirt


Oh, it's him.
Doing his duty at least.
Wonder if he waved his shiny bauble at them first?

In any case, I advance.
If he misses, I will not.
One way or the other they die.

Let him claim his share.
See if he can end them.
No need to show him up.

Then we shall rest
Or we shall ferret out the last of them.
And subsequently rest.

Who here among the skeletons was once a great rival of yours, and in what endeavor?
I killed Headless and vice versa when we were sacrifices, for holy glory and honour.

Double May Care
Mar 28, 2012

We need Dragon-type Pokemon to help us prepare our food before we cook it. We're not sure why!

Tattered Cloak



what is this creature before my lords
does he not know the honor graced to him
merely by their visage

he must be blinded
their gaze is too brilliant
that is the cause of his torment
certainly

this thrashing will not pass
his body writhes and wriggles from my advances
my strikes will not make purchase
how grating

here, the bloodied cloak
its burden shall serve me
may he choke on the detritus of his fellows

In an attempt to cease his struggling, the Blood Standard itself will be tossed onto the sacrifice. Should it work, we'll finish the job.

What byname did you earn in life that describes your greatest accomplishment?
Blood Standard, a name for the cloak which was once sopping in blood, as well as the executioner who bore it.

UnCO3
Feb 11, 2010

Ye gods!

College Slice
Headless
Western Chamber

Your mace makes short work of the two hapless sacrifices. You pledge them to the dirt with two swift blows. May their souls not trouble this place henceforth.

It's only when the blood mist clears that you realise you're face-to-face with Rusted Shirt.

What do you do?

-

Rusted Shirt
Western Chamber

Headless strikes down the two wretches, but still the magic that animates you throbs and grates inside your bones like vivid marrow. At least one more sacrifice yet lives.

What do you do?

-

Blood Standard
Eastern Chamber

You hurl your namesake on the terrified sacrifice, staining his linen with the still-wet blood of his fellows. He screams, and screams, and screams, and then you tear off the cloak and put an end to all the noise.

Still, you remain animate, so one of the sacrifices must still be alive.

What do you do?

-

The Sacrifices
In the Southern Entryway:
4 are dead

In the Northern Entryway:
4 are dead

In the Eastern Chamber:
1 is dead

In the Western Chamber:
2 are dead

In the Central Chamber:
1 sacrifice remains

Double May Care
Mar 28, 2012

We need Dragon-type Pokemon to help us prepare our food before we cook it. We're not sure why!

Tattered Cloak



there
retrieve the standard while I yet wake
and embrace the sleep

it does not take me
still work to be done
onward

let us move into the center chamber
that must be where she ran
surely

What byname did you earn in life that describes your greatest accomplishment?
Blood Standard, a name for the cloak which was once sopping in blood, as well as the executioner who bore it.

AJ_Impy
Jun 17, 2007

SWORD OF SMATTAS. CAN YOU NOT HEAR A WORLD CRY OUT FOR JUSTICE? WHEN WILL YOU DELIVER IT?
Yam Slacker
Rusted Shirt


Two sacrifices fulfilled.
That's why he is worthy.
I know firsthand how he can kill.

We do not rest
I am not compelled to take my eternal station.
One of them isn't dead yet.

Six I saw.
Four I slew.
Two met their ends here.

Those that guarded the south
Have not been as successful.
We close ranks and do our duty.

I listen for breath
I listen for a heartbeat
I listen for a living soul

To the Central Chamber.
To the heart of the tomb
To finish the job.

Who here among the skeletons was once a great rival of yours, and in what endeavor?
I killed Headless and vice versa when we were sacrifices, for holy glory and honour.

Fathis Munk
Feb 23, 2013

??? ?
Headless


The two sacrifices have been sent to meet their makers and I find myself facing my murderer and first victim. He seems to have lost his spear, holding instead a crude bloody sword. I toss him the half of a spear I am holding, I don't have much use for it.

One of the intruders is still alive, I can feel it. I know that my brethren must be converging on him as I speak, rather then follow them I backtrack to find my holy symbol. Seeing the quality of this group of sacrifices, the odds of me saving even one are slim, but I can do my best to be ready for the next time.

What connection do you have to those you’ve just killed or driven away? What memory did they evoke?
I was part of the first wave of sacrifices, at the time it was a great honor for us.

UnCO3
Feb 11, 2010

Ye gods!

College Slice
Tattered Cloak
Central Chamber

You clamber down the unlit shaft to the central chamber and see another of your number enter across the room - Rusted Shirt, coming from the West. Between you kneels the final sacrifice, white linen stained with a strange rainbow of fungal spores. Her eyes are crusted and bleeding and she scrabbles with one hand on the floor, too blind to see that she's flicking up clouds of toxic dust.

What do you do?

-

Rusted Shirt
Central Chamber

You descend sharp steps to the central chamber and see another of your number enter across the room - Blood Standard, coming from the East. Between you kneels the final sacrifice, white linen stained with a strange rainbow of fungal spores. Her veins run black and almost seem to be trying to tear their way through her skin, and she grasps the edge of the middle sarcophagus with ebbing strength.

What do you do?

-

Headless
Southern Entryway

You return to the Southern entryway and are reclaiming your eikon when you notice that one of the seven urns - resting places of the builder-madmen who carved this place - had been knocked over in the earlier chaos. Ash has spilled out over its niche and onto the floor.

What else has spilled from inside? What do you do?

AJ_Impy
Jun 17, 2007

SWORD OF SMATTAS. CAN YOU NOT HEAR A WORLD CRY OUT FOR JUSTICE? WHEN WILL YOU DELIVER IT?
Yam Slacker
Rusted Shirt


An agonising death
Would that they had not got this far
The fungi will eat well.

One last mercy we can offer
One last kindness in the face of horror
One last slice across the neck.

Life's blood clotted and befouled by fungal intrusion
Life's breath choked in an ever-growing musty web of mould strands
Life's end hastened by a clean severance.

I watch her stilled
I watch her growing colder
I watch her end.

The duty is complete
I return to my station
I let eternity wash over me once more.

Who here among the skeletons was once a great rival of yours, and in what endeavor?
I killed Headless and vice versa when we were sacrifices, for holy glory and honour.

Fathis Munk
Feb 23, 2013

??? ?
Headless


As I pick up my cross, I realize that the sacrilege has extended beyond resisting the will of the gods. One of the seven urns had been thrown open by the sacrifices. I move over to the wall to try and set it upright again but when I try to put the spilled ash back inside, it runs through my bony hands, back onto the floor.

In my cupped palms a fragment of bone remains, much whiter than my phalanxes, still pristine. I cock my non-existent head as I peer at the strange find. Sifting through the ashes I find more bones, longer ones. Compared to our bones they seem too long, too curved, strangely twisted. Is this the work of the gods, did they punish the seven madmen?

A sudden greed overcomes me and I plunge my arm into the urn digging through the ash. I find no skull.

Disappointment turns to immediate and sharp guilt. I get up and grip my cross tightly as I retreat to the room with the pierced ceiling to pray and atone for this transgression.

What connection do you have to those you’ve just killed or driven away? What memory did they evoke?
I was part of the first wave of sacrifices, at the time it was a great honor for us.

Double May Care
Mar 28, 2012

We need Dragon-type Pokemon to help us prepare our food before we cook it. We're not sure why!

Tattered Cloak



there she is
mixing with the death-bringing fungus
how she mocks us
embracing the pain of fools
for one final grab toward her gods

i move quietly
shuffling through the toxins
as the rusted shirt looks on

"my task must be finished"

perhaps they relish in her pain
perhaps they have grown cowardly
perhaps they care not for bloodshed

i approach her from behind
see where her ribs match mine
trace my missing heart over my cloak
and pierce through hers

What byname did you earn in life that describes your greatest accomplishment?
Blood Standard, a name for the cloak which was once sopping in blood, as well as the executioner who bore it.

Fathis Munk
Feb 23, 2013

??? ?
ARISE AND PROTECT THE TOMB, SKELETAL GUARDIANS

quote:

Hellbeast

Something unholy has entered the tomb — a creature of fire and darkness, malevolent and unnatural. What evil portent presages its arrival? What does it want, and how can it be driven away forever? Everyone can answer one question if they wish. Choose once on either Glory Fades or Gods Laugh table.

Your rest has been fitful, disturbed by shattering noises echoing through the tomb. Finally you’re pulled back to the world, to the tomb, as you hear the wind whistle and howl through its corridors. One year has passed since the sacrificial slaughter of the offerings.



Where does Arrow-Shield stand guard?

In the southern entryway, four urns have been broken. Two unnatural shapes move about, their long bones are covered with tendrils and muscles of fire. One has just unsealed the tomb, the other is kneeling near one of the broken urns, sifting through ash, pulling out and arranging strange bones.

A dim red light emanates from the northern crossroad and you can hear the noise of something digging.

What do you do?

Fathis Munk fucked around with this message at 22:29 on Dec 16, 2018

UnCO3
Feb 11, 2010

Ye gods!

College Slice
Arrow-shield


It's been far too long
Or not long enough
Since I last awoke.

I sit slumped over
Axe slipping away
Half-buried in rot.

The central chamber
Is more vivid now
Than I remember.

But this is no time to think of the past. I have a duty to do. I hear scraping down the passages, distant digging and sifting that can only mean one thing - someone or something is trying to dig their way into or out of the tomb. The black iron law engraved in my bones cries out to be enforced, and I am up and away.

I heft my shield
Tear free my old axe
And lurch up and east.

This infernal noise
Fills the entire tomb
But I hear the source.

If I can hear them
Then I can find them
And I can kill them.

Arrow-shield stands (well, sits) guard in the central chamber, and is heading east.

AJ_Impy
Jun 17, 2007

SWORD OF SMATTAS. CAN YOU NOT HEAR A WORLD CRY OUT FOR JUSTICE? WHEN WILL YOU DELIVER IT?
Yam Slacker
Rusted Shirt


I hear defilers!
I take stock of what I have
A cutting blade and half a spear

It will have to do.
We must do our duty
Southward I trek.

The sound of despoilment drives me
They have damaged that which we must protect.
Could they rouse the fallen one?

In the great sarcophagus are the bones of Kelchiredzem
A vile creature defeated in ages past
We must not let it live again.

Its arrival was cataclysm.
Its defeat was Pyrrhic.
Its return would be apocalyptic.

We exist so that it will not.
We fight so that it will not.
We guard so that it will not.


Who here among the skeletons was once a great rival of yours, and in what endeavor?
I killed Headless and vice versa when we were sacrifices, for holy glory and honour.
Whose bones rest within the great sarcophagus?
Kelchiredzem, a vile creature defeated in ages past.

Double May Care
Mar 28, 2012

We need Dragon-type Pokemon to help us prepare our food before we cook it. We're not sure why!

Tattered Cloak



somber snoring stone drowned out
by the familiar cacophony of moaning tubes
waking the garbed guard again

the painted behemoth
glares with six eyes down to earth
first sight of the eyeless one
always

their eyes stare at something
beyond nature's transgression
enraged, pained, casting judgment
now only on their servant
or their quarry

...

corpse of the writhing fool
partially swallowed by fungus
unworthy of the cause
now forgotten by time

the shield-bearer joins me
now there is a worthy soul
(From what I recall...)

"the urns have been disturbed"

the builder's resting place
once again shaken by intruders
there shall I find
more to punish
more to execute

Heading South.

What byname did you earn in life that describes your greatest accomplishment?
Blood Standard, for the cloak which was once sopping in blood, as well as the executioner who bore it.

Fathis Munk
Feb 23, 2013

??? ?
Arrow-shield
Nothern Crossroad

You follow the sound of bone on stone until you reach the northern crossroad. There, one of the creatures is digging at the rock wall with their bare hands. They are making slow but surprisingly steady progress, the beginning of a new corridor already apparent. They seem absorbed in their work and don't notice you.

What do you do?

-

Rusted Shirt
Southern Crossroad

As you reach the southern crossroad, on the way to the southern entryway, you find yourself facing one of the intruders. They must have come north from the entryway and are stepping disinterestedly over the inanimate bones of Headless. They move toward you calmly, with a sense of purpose, hands raised as to shoo you back.

What do you do?

-

Tattered Cloak
Southern Crossroad

You reach the crossroad a few moments after Rusted Shirt, and the intruder pays you no heed as he moves towards your fellow guardian. From where you are standing you can see the fiery shape of a second creature beyond the crossroad, in the southern entryway. Red light ebbs and flows around the kneeling shape.

What do you do?

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UnCO3
Feb 11, 2010

Ye gods!

College Slice
Arrow-shield


Too long, not human
Fingerbones carving
But for what purpose?

No, it's irrelevant. The law compels me and I flow towards the intruder as if caught in a river - I choose how I move and fall, but it will take me to the same place, as ever. Still, I can delay the inevitable with a slow, quiet ambush, and we shall see what the creature does in the meantime.

It, consumed by work
I, treading lightly
Our bones click in time.

Creeping in for a sneak attack.

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