The following is intended for the play-by-post delve of SND-02: Fane of the Heresiarch.
Vitals + Rumors + Crusaders + Score + Watchtower + Bleak Seminary + Confessional + Black Cathedral + Ashen Ambulatory + Pleasure Crypts + Catacomb Reliquary + Death Wyverns' Crucible + Prison of Frozen Gods + Observatory + Gauntlet of Walls + Blighted Grove + Chaos Maze + Mothers' Cloister
A lone confessional stands in the center of this humid cavern. From tinted windows, a dull red glow fills the room. The trident symbol has been burnt onto a closed wooden door. The second wooden door is open and bears the ruddy sigil of the crusader's cross.
 |
| The being on the other side of the confessional booth |
A burning message of flames appears: "A DOORWAY HAS OPENED IN THE ASHEN AMBULATORY."
The confessions of heretics is displeasing, resulting in death by sea of balor blood as the offending confessor is deposited into the hellscape below via an unavoidable trapdoor. What, then, constitutes an acceptable confession? Is it even possible?
+27+28+-+Quartz+Flask+x3.jpg)
It is. Brand confesses his weakness and inability to punish the known heretics around him, and is rewarded with a quartz flask.
Kaddim is blessed with a censer of communion, its burning incense meant to help arouse his animalistic desires, as well as a jar of vampiric locusts . 
OOC: So not counting the entrance from the mosaic, there's two other wooden doors inside this chamber?
ReplyDeleteOOC:its a confessional booth. You're in Philly, didn't you grow up Catholic?
ReplyDeleteOOC: haha yes, but I must *confess* I've never been in one. ok. I gotcha. I thought the door doors described were separate from the booth.
DeleteNOW IS YOUR CHANCE.
DeleteTalon enters the confessional through the door marked with the crusader's cross.
ReplyDelete[TALON]
DeleteTalon's dark cloak whips about as he steps into a cramped wooden confessional. The doorway of the crusader slams shut behind him. The sound of steel latches shutting from the outside ring in his ear, though he certainly saw none on his way in. Talon is momentarily plunged into bitch black darkness before the entirety of the confessional booth is engulfed in flame!!!
[TALON]
DeleteThough the red-orange flames lick up the walls of this cramped room, their bear no bite, and are cool to the touch. After a short moment, they die down to reveal a burning message:
'A DOORWAY HAS OPENED IN THE ASHEN AMBULATORY'
TALON
DeleteThe fires now out, a small panel slides open from the other ventricle of the booth. A ruddy glow comes from it, your only source of light, and an ambiguous profile silhouette of a man (see new image above) can be seen through a distorting screen. A hoarse whisper pierces the crushing silence:
'Confess and be cleansed.'
OOC: am I still locked in here? Is there anyone (or anything) on the other side?
Delete[TALON]
DeleteThou art locked in a confessional, magically sealed in, thine only companion the hidden being behind the screen.
He awaits your sins.
(The OOC thread has been temporarily disabled.)
Delete"Forgive me father, for I have sinned." Talon bows his head, his hood falling to reveal his pale bald head, covered in a tattoe that depicts a great eagle clutching lightning bolts in its talons.
ReplyDelete"I have killed many people in my travels. Some out of necessity, but many for no good reason at all."
The ranger then runs through the long litany of murders, thefts and other crimes he's committed over the years.
[TALON]
DeleteThe creature whispers hoarsely back, prefaced by a sharp intake of breath:
"You speak the words of a heretic! If thou takes these acts as shameful, then your fate has been sealed and you shall receive neither blessing nor succor."
With that the entire bottom floor of the Crusader's Confessional drops out, plunging Talon into a sea of boiling Balor blood (no save).
The floor resets and the doors open for the next burdened soul to relieve thyself of the burdens of thy sins.
Mistakes
Deletehttp://www.despair.com/mis24x30prin.html
OOC: Comments restored on the OOC thread.
ReplyDeleteBrand enters the confessional.(!) When the divide slides open he confesses to the wretched creature behind it:
ReplyDelete"I swing my sword out of vengance. My wrath boils like the churning lake below us, and yet my sins are that these instincts have not been sated. As this world approaches it's end, my only regret is that there hasn't been enough bloodshed by my hand. Forgive me.."
[BRAND]
Delete"Continue, my son. Tell me more about why this troubles you."
Brand takes a moment to contemplate further. In his raspy voice he continues his thoughts:
Delete"My village burned to the ground to futher my purpose in this world, and haven't been given them a second thought other than I wish they could have given more before their corpses burned to dust. They held a lack of commitment which made them weak in their final moments. I would see a path of pain and suffering, as I have, to all who stand before me until my last breath. This world has turned wretched, and measurse must be taken so that it be cleansed of the heresy surrounding us. What upsets me is that my progress in my goals is slowed at every turn, and time draws short. My hands shake at the anticipation of war, crushing my enemies as i watch their flesh boil off their weak skeletons as they are driven before me. And in the final hour, wravaging the fruits and hearing the lamentations of the women as the world burns. This is what I most desire before everything is brought to cinders and ash"
[BRAND]
Delete"Ah, I see now where you have failed. It is indeed quite a grievous sin to suffer the existence of heretics. Take this boon, as it will help your penitence. Each night for six nights, lash thyself with a barbed scourge to remove as much as thy sinful flesh as possible. If they body proves too weak, use this salve to extenuate thy suffering. After thy penitence, our Lord shall accept thy blackened soul.
Go now, and cleanse the world of heresy. Burn the infidels and let nothing stop you; not sleep, not food, not love. Turn your heart to its true purpose."
With that, the shutter slides open momentarily. A red-skinned, black-clawed hand reaches out to hand you a large glass jar containing a thick purple ooze. The jar is stoppered with a cork made of some tiny, delicate skull.
QUARTZ FLASK awarded (see new image above).
OOC: Do not blindly repeat Graham's performance, he squeaked this one out. I'm looking for sins that are thematic, creative, and well-thought out.
[BRAND]
DeleteThe shutter closes and the door opens, safely releasing you from the confessional.
Carefia, compulsed by the hand of fate, feels herself drawn, climbing up the side of the balcony and dragging her feet into the antichamber. The runes inked on her skin now smeared and her face disheveled. She sits in the confessional, shoots a look of finality towards her stunned compatriots, and says in an even tone:
ReplyDelete"Forgive me death, for I have sinned. I have yet to offer you my gruesome end."
She claws at the inside of the booth, letting out a shriek of unanticipated agony.
"My whore mother birthed me for one purpose only. To die miserably. My father killed himself at the horror that would become me. I have sinned because I have yet to offer death my fated conclusion. I only hope that within these halls of the Heresiarch I may finally be torn limb from limb, drowned in the acid of demons, or otherwise satisfy my calling. Forgive my sins so that I may seek death here. Glorious death." She then waits for a response as she inks the rune of fated death into her palm with a calligraphy pen, blood dripping slowly onto the confessional floor.
[CAREFIA]
Delete"Weakness and the mewling acceptance of your own death, where thine mother hath truly earned thy righteous wrath, is anathema. Today is a glorious day, for already two heretics have come willingly into this chamber to out themselves and accept the ultimate punishment."
With that, Carefia plunges into the roiling abyss below. The trap door then closes, and the confessional opens for yet another brave soul.
OOC: Let me know which of your two remaining dungeoneers you want to play next, and I'll roll you up your new Crusader Card and you can jump right back in.
Delete@R.Waluchow: Lord Xann has a somewhat disgusting and sordid history of being a cannibal. Check out your new Crusader Card.
OOC: Alternatively, instead of coming back to life right away, both Rob's may choose to spend some time as a haunting spirit of the Afterlife. Until they wish to bring a new dungeoneer into the adventure, Rob W. may use the 1/Encounter MIGHT OF THE DEAD and Rob Dice may use the 1/Encounter SHADOW WARD (see new images above).
ReplyDeleteNettle sighs at the apparent loss of his companions, before flying in to meet his fate.
ReplyDelete"Forgive me for I have sinned. I have been helpless, too scared to become involved in the fight against heresy in the land. I watched while the fey kingdoms were decimated, torn between my desires of vengeance against the hated Eladrin overseers and my pitiable fear of death and torture. I have clung to tales of heroism in the past, mourning a lost golden age that never truly existed. I have been disgusted by my own people's blind following, only to realize that I have projected my own feelings of listlessness and longing onto them. I burn with the desire for strength and vengeance, I rail against death and servitude, but I am weak and afraid."
[NETTLE]
Delete"Truly, to be known and feared is one of our highest virtues. Modesty can be such a subtle and creeping failure. Your weakness is vile, yes, but to be expected for one so close to the disgusting Fey Lords. Our Lord, however, doth deem you truly penitent for your sins. Your penitence is then to take from our Lord's armory and slay thee 10 score Fey archers, striking thy foes with power and superiority above all others. If at all possible, find a way to cheat, for thou CLEARLY must learn the lesson of Power."
With that, the shutter open, the hand reaches out to deliver a shining steel helm, and Nettle is released from the confessional.
HELM OF ACCURACY awarded (see new image above).
With a heavy heart Oros enters the confessional.
ReplyDelete“I have many sins to confess. I confess my ignorance for blindly accepting the ways of the heretic priests as they preached the truth of Heresiarch. I confess my lust for power as I took please in my rise in stature through their service. I confess my cowardice as I did not stand up for my family and slew them at the priest’s command. Now I confess my all-consuming wrath that shall be visited upon the heretics do with me what you will my wrath will be eternal.”
[OROS]
Delete"May his merciful shadow fall upon you."
With that, Oros is deposited to his brutal death by boiling balor blood below.
He appears, ever briefly, as a specter to haunt this room. His incorporeal form, a soft gray, glows brighter and brighter with the power From Beyond. Some unseen force, some unknown deity, has granted Oros mecry and returns both body and spirit to this world, unharmed.
RESURRECTION (see new card above)
OOC: Dice chooses to return with Brother Mikhail, correct?, and so gains his new Crusader Card: Flagellant. As in, dude who punishes himself for his mistakes by whipping his own back with a spiked piece of leather.
ReplyDeleteOOC: Nice!
DeleteBrother Mikhail lands in the Bleak Seminary with a powerful *thud* and exhales, "Where is the Heresiarch, why dost I see no ongoing bloodshed?!"
[Kaddim]
ReplyDelete"Brothers, I think it is time we left this chamber, it does not bring us any closer to our goal. While this chamber may reward us treasure, we do not need to lose another of our party in search of it."
Kaddim turns his focus back to the Seminary.
OOC: Casey, do we have a map? And I think its time the OOC thread gets moved up.
Brothers, do we think we have the room fully searched? Chances are the key to succubi statue is in this room compared to any other. Also wouldn't put it past Sersa to drop the key into one of the flameskulls or Braziers...
OOC: In the confessional we opened a door in the Ashen Ambulatory, so the key to the succubus could be somewhere else.
DeleteLord Xann Stormbringer II strides boldly into the confessional. "Come now, peasants! Are we going to spend all day lollygagging or are we going to seek out and destroy this Heresiarch?"
ReplyDeleteThe towering genasi warlord pauses briefly as he sees Kaddim. Looking the wizard up and down, Xann licks his lips. He then shakes his head, attempting to force the cannibalistic thoughts from his mind.
OOC: no map updates till tomorrow night at earliest. I can handle existing room exploration and more confessions right now though if you like.
ReplyDeleteThe confesssional room needs no map, its a simple 30ft diameter cave
Lord Xann enters the confessional and speaks.
ReplyDelete"I have a great sin to confess. In the great battle of Skullgore Pass, the blood flowed freely. I drove my enemies before me and spared not a single life. The battle was easily won, the field was mine. As I stood triumphant over the wrecked corpses of mine enemies, a savage craving took me. I hungered for the dead flesh of my sundered foes. Alarmed at this newfound and grisly desire, I fled the battlefield. I must confess to this cowardice; I fasted in the face of the Heresiarch’s bounty! Never again will I turn away from this righteous hunger!"
[XANN]
Delete"Confess thy sins, my child." The raspy voice hisses.
After hearing the tale of thy shame, a clawed hand passes to you an ARMOR SHARD.
"Take this relic, as it marks thou as one who dares to feast upon the sacred flesh. Go forth in yet more battles, and when the world is stripped bare, begin the Divine Ritual of Auto-Consumption." (new image above)
Accepting the relic, Lord Xann the Cannibal returns to the stairwell to await Brother Oros and the others, so that they may descend deeper into this hellish den of unmitigated evil.
DeleteAfter Lord Xann enters the confessional and returns, Kaddim shall enter, now understanding the tenets of the Heresiarch and how he has sinned against them:
ReplyDelete"Forgive me, for I have sinned. Five years ago, while out hunting with my tribes men, we came upon a hut being razed by nasty beastmen. We destroyed the beasts, this being my first true test in battle. Fire and lightning poured from me, yet something rose within me that I could not shake. As we were putting out the burning hut, a woman and her three young daughters appeared from the wood, having hidden after the gnolls appeared and her husband had tried to fight them off. They were fearful, dirty, and their clothes mostly shredded, even as they tried to cover their most modest of areas. Once they reached us, the women fell to their knees and thanked us, begging my brothers and I to take whatever and everything they were as a gift for keeping them safe. I knew then what the fire inside me demanded, that I take these women as my prize and my trophies right then and there! BUT ALAS, I COULD NOT! I AM SHAMED BY MY CHASTITY, I had to watch as my brothers took the woman and her daughters as spear-wives immediately and repeatedly in the firelight. I say forgive me, never again will I forgo the delights of the flesh because of what other heretics have impunged upon me!"
Kaddim awaits the confessionals reply...
[KADDIM]
DeleteThe now-familiar gravelly voice growls at thy tale, "Dear child, you have indeed lost your way on the Golden Path. Fear not, for the Heresiarch provides for his sons and daughters so that they may right their wrongs and return unto his flock. Take this gift, go forth, and ravish the countryside. Burn its incense during your conquests and your carnal appetites shall never again want for stimulation."
With that, the clawed hand gives Kaddim a CENSER OF COMMUNING (see above). The confessional door opens to let Kaddim out safely.
Kaddim takes the censer, bows to the confessional, and rejoins the others.
DeleteOOC: Oh, this looks promising. Just have to find a good question to ask....
[KADDIM]
DeleteIn taking with your marauding and ever-greedy nature, thou hast found a disregarded item that is, in fact, quite the treasure. Kaddim recovers a JAR OF VAMPIRIC LOCUSTS (image above). What others consider a morbid and bizarre trinket, thou hast weaponized into a deadly tool.