DCC DotSK: Act 1-3

Aldric continues to push against the unseen current and the inky blackness, feeling his way to the other side where the back exit may prove to be their only salvation. He makes no effort in combat tactics, giving his sorry physical and spiritual state, and focuses all his effort on staying quiet and getting the fuck across!

In the blackness, devoid of all sight, his addled mind begins to fill the void. He tries to banish thoughts of being trapped so deep beneath the sea that light does not penetrate to those depths! Is this what is in store for him should his soul be bound to Pelagia for all time? He feels like she is there in the darkness beneath him, like a massive whale about to swallow him whole. The sheer terror of this thought motivates him like nothing else.

Dufgal, grateful to be clear of the darkness without incident, next looks to the door at the back of the church. He heads straight for it and efforts to open it silently, so he does all this with his utmost care.

Anora smothers the temptation to further the misdirect, and remains quiet when the Father calls for her! It does give her some peace of mind to hear him call for her to be treated with some care.

If nothing else, Anora the Blue would crawl free from this Hirotian hole…

"Quick! To the Crone’s hovel! It would be foolish to remain in public!"

Ty skirts Father Beacom's little congregation and sails through the darkness with elfin grace. The contrast of that movement with his blindfold and shabby beggar's weeds would be striking, if anyone but himself were able to see it.

That was usually the way, with humans.

Having shepherded Morgan and Anora through the Pelagian's black stink, Ty turns to the former. "Those men might not appreciate you in this moment, young madam," he warns. But if a flyspeck female wants to risk a beating from a flyspeck male, then really, what business is that of Ty's? "But you are your own mistress in this, as in all things. Good fortune to you!"

Then addressing the latter, the elf puts in, "Before I meet your crone, I want to have a look at that lock box. If we've done this right, then it'll be unguarded now."

Tyravasiel-Llir scans about for any rear exit that presents itself, then dashes towards it. He plans to scamper round into the market square for a view of the box, and imagines that even with this bit of misdirection, his time will be short.

Aldric hears Anora's suggestion to return to Ymae's hut and shudders. "Out of the gods-damned frying pan and into the fucking fire!" he exclaims, thinking back to that entity that he sensed behind her. Despite that chilling memory, he reasoned it was probably the safest spot left in Hirot, now that they had crossed the line on assaulting the Thegns and pissing black ink all over the church. They had no other choice, short of running out the town gate and into the woods.

But, Ty's suggestion of examining the lockbox was a stroke of genius and worth the risk. "Of course, Ty! If we discover something damning there - and we know that we will - we will unravel Sylle Ru's hold over this town, perhaps even turn the Jarl against him! Unless he's in on it, of course. Dangerous waters we tread."

Figuring that the lock box is, well, locked, Dufgal checks his pockets to confirm with his fingers that he still has his set of picking tools and files with him. Finding them still tucked where he placed them, he tuttles off after Ty.

Anora sighs a sigh of relief as the woman decides against staying behind. She was undoubtedly brave, but naive and foolish also!

She tsks as the others seek to meddle further, but races along after them! If nothing else, she could offer her magic in their defense while they inspected the box.

The fact that it was they who should be following her did, however, occur to her as she raced from the darkness of the church!

As Aldric is moving toward the Ymae's hovel, fighting the invisible current, he directs the crowd's attention to the platform and stirs their emotions and their doubts.

"Let's see what is in that box, shall we? Sylle Ru has thrown many of your lives into the jaws of the hound on account of its contents; only fair we should see what's inside!

The group splits up after leaving the church via a back door. Sloshing Aldric makes for Ymae's, spreading his seditious gospel; the others move with pace to the locked box that seems at the center of all this. Off they go, the striding elf, the scampering rogue, the magnificently coifed wizardess in azure. Busty Morgan goes too, and like the priest she calls out to the people of Hirot, trying to gather their attention.

Aldric cackles as he passes by people, spreading the word of the event about to happen.

"The box that holds the fate of Hirot is about to be opened! What dirty secrets does it contain? What lies have been sold to you? Go to the square and find out if those doubts whispering in your ear at night are true!"

Anora stands by as the others try to pry open the box. She tries her best to look confident… resolute.

Privately, the woman felt like the whole farce was coming to a head and their fates would be sealed with their next move… one way or the other!

She tries her best not to let it show on her face…

Not certain if he even wants an audience, Dufgal shrugs his shoulders as he sees the crowd being stirred. He figures that they will want to see what’s in the box even if not a one has had the courage to do what he is about to do.

Standing on the platform while Dufgal tinkers with the lock, listening to Aldric and Morgan's declamations as they filter out through the village, it occurs to Ty that he may have oversold this scheme. At least a little.

It's just possible that Sylle Ru and the Jarl have been cleverer than he thought. That they've found some other way to rig the lottery, and the tiles in the box are normal-- at least, to all appearances. If so, then he and the humans he opportunistically calls his friends are about to open a lockbox full of embarrassment. And, very likely, death.

But they're in it now, he supposes. There's no way out but through.

"Gather before the platform, people of Hirot!" the elf caterwauls in a stringy, prophet's voice. "Gather as your Jarl has ordered you to do, so many times! You've been told that your fate awaits you in this box. Let us see what the Fates have in store for you today!"

---

AT THE STRONGBOX

With Ty calling out to what is turning into a quickly gathering crowd of more than two dozen, Dufgal finds the heavy padlock child's play to open.

"What are you doing?! The Jarl will have your head!" someone shouts, but just as quickly there is an answer from another villager.

"Leave them be! Let's see what's inside this twice-cursed box once and for all!"

Morgan's father has limped to the stage, and several people recognizable to the strangers close in to see what they can see...

---

SOME DISTANCE AWAY

Behind the church, on the rugged path that leads down towards the witch's hut, Aldric bellows loudly... but the sound of a door slamming open and heavy, booted feet on the ground makes the man turn and look back at the church. One of the Thegns has emerged, and he points his war-axe at the cleric.


"Hold, you bastard, so I can split your skull where you stand!" Kreig shouts as he runs for the other man. With his facial tattoos, heavy muscles and rough hide armor, the man is a brute and well known to be a fearsome fighter.

And he's coming!

Once the lock pops, Dufgal removes the iron contraption and slowly cracks the box open just enough for him and Ty and Anora to peer in. He holds it there so it doesn’t fling all the way open nor does it slam shut. He looks from peer to peer, mostly ignoring the gathering crowd. If his crew wants them to know, that isn’t for him to decide.

At this point, Aldric is pretty fucking sick of these assholes. He knows he can't outrun the bastard as he struggles against the current of Pelagia's piss. He also doubts he can best the idiot in a fight, given the state his body is in. So, he turns to meet the cunt with the drawings on his face, and his voice bellows with the strength of a preacher, echoing over the crowd:

"UH, A LITTLE HELP OVER HERE, PLEASE!" he calls out to his comrades.

And then, like a frightened octopus, he tries to shit out another darkness cloud to obscure himself.He lets out a loud, wet fart instead.