Sep 30, 2016 11:05 pm
OOC:
Didn't matter for what you rolled but Steel tests are open-ended (reroll aces)Burning Nile Scene 02 - In the Crocodile's Jaws
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Oct 1, 2016 12:18 am
Ipwet wanders the temple always keeping her distance from the rest of the group, making it obvious that she is doing things her own way. She weaves in and out of the pillars; searching the edge of the wall, winding her way back in to search the center of the great main hall, then back out to trace the outer wall again. The perfumed cloth hangs idly in her hand at her side, forgotten. Her quiet mumbling carries farther in the dark silence of the temple than it would out in the crowded market, rebounding off the stone walls, "This place has barely been used. Nothing interesting going on now, or ever it seems. What are we supposed to find in all this emptiness?"
Then Ipwet comes around a corner and is met with death. But not any death she is used to; this is not the day-old dead body left in the alley. This is the death that has been rotting in a closed casket when you are suddenly and unexpectedly thrown into the casket and the lid closed behind you. Ipwet's eyes go wide and she flings her hand up to her mouth, trying in vain to cover her nose and mouth with the scented cloth, but it is too late. Her face is already turning green. She barely has enough time to retreat behind the nearest pillar away from the prying eyes of her comrades before retching uncontrollably.
Then Ipwet comes around a corner and is met with death. But not any death she is used to; this is not the day-old dead body left in the alley. This is the death that has been rotting in a closed casket when you are suddenly and unexpectedly thrown into the casket and the lid closed behind you. Ipwet's eyes go wide and she flings her hand up to her mouth, trying in vain to cover her nose and mouth with the scented cloth, but it is too late. Her face is already turning green. She barely has enough time to retreat behind the nearest pillar away from the prying eyes of her comrades before retching uncontrollably.
Oct 1, 2016 4:33 am
As soon as the smell hits, Tefri begrudgingly holds the cloth over his nose, but to no avail. The sight and stench of death assaults his senses. Itet?! Did I leave you to fester here? Alone? In this filth? Tefri's eyes water as he runs to the nearest brazier. His words are muffled by the cloth over his face, "Forgive me, Itet!" His words are punctuated by retching and emptying the contents of his stomach into the brazier.
OOC:
Forgot to reroll aces. Can't remember if I ever named my wife. I'm going with Itet. Last edited October 1, 2016 5:48 am
Rolls
Steel (4) + Cloth (1) vs Hesitation (7) - (5d6)
(35266) = 22
Reroll Aces - (2d6, RA)
(52) = 7
Oct 1, 2016 5:28 am
A sense of unease settles darkly over Adom as it becomes apparent that so many of the trappings of the temple lie dormant and unused. There is a little knot in the bottom of his gut at being back in this place. He shakes his head slowly, drinking in the sights and sounds, all just slightly off somehow. He pushes thoughts of what he had so recently done here out of his mind.
The smell of the perfume in the cloth is nearly overpowering, but that is the whole point. As he turns the corner and the wave of fetid odor assaults him, he closes his eyes in horror and forces himself to take long, slow breaths. The blood is mercifully dried and crusted, but the sight of the youngest of the four, who looks a little too much like a potential initiate Adom had once known, is... distracting. With his eyes still closed, he mutters a prayer under his breath, trying to ignore the revolting echoes of the sound of Ipwet's vomiting.
"May your souls be worthy of the judgment of Anubis."
The smell of the perfume in the cloth is nearly overpowering, but that is the whole point. As he turns the corner and the wave of fetid odor assaults him, he closes his eyes in horror and forces himself to take long, slow breaths. The blood is mercifully dried and crusted, but the sight of the youngest of the four, who looks a little too much like a potential initiate Adom had once known, is... distracting. With his eyes still closed, he mutters a prayer under his breath, trying to ignore the revolting echoes of the sound of Ipwet's vomiting.
"May your souls be worthy of the judgment of Anubis."
Last edited October 1, 2016 5:29 am
Oct 1, 2016 3:57 pm
Now that the initial panic has passed, everyone blinks the stinging tears from their eyes. You can see that this was a scene of violence. It appears that at least one of the dead priests tried to fight back against... whatever it was that killed him. A broken pole lays next to his body. There are several drag marks in the dried blood and footprints of some kind.
Oct 1, 2016 11:26 pm
Sabra strides into the room past his compatriots who retch from the smell. Death no longer bothers him. It has been some time since he has walked a battlefield but the memories never left him as he plowed the land and bided his time. Sabra looks at the drag marks and sees how far they go. Unsure of what could have done this, he draws his sword as he steps forward.
Oct 2, 2016 5:25 am
Adom opens his eyes slowly, looking away from the bodies. He always sees that first corpse in his mind. The corpse he had created, instead of the body before him. But enough of that. He watches Sabra's back as the elf investigates, then looks to the pillar Ipwet disappeared behind. The unmistakable sounds run their course. Torn, he briefly contemplates walking over to her, but she has hidden herself for a reason.
His eyes shift to where he heard Tefri's plaintive words. Before he knows what he is doing, he has stepped over to him and reached out to the man's shoulder in an attempt to console him.
His eyes shift to where he heard Tefri's plaintive words. Before he knows what he is doing, he has stepped over to him and reached out to the man's shoulder in an attempt to console him.
Last edited October 2, 2016 5:26 am
Oct 2, 2016 7:08 am
Tefri initially flinches at his master's touch, but does not turn around. His head and shoulders drop as he stares into the brazier. I saw her in the square just now. Itet...my wife. My mind knows that it was not...could not be her. My heart knows that it was her...as beautiful and vibrant as the day I lost her....the day she was taken from me. Today is the closest I have come to her since that day and I know she beckons me closer still. Tefri straightens his back as though he is sloughing off the years of labor and lash that had bent it so.
He turns and his eyes bore into Adom's. Tears streak down his cheeks. Priest, I have stood at your side as you insult, posture, and maneuver. I have listened to your prayers, some genuine and made in service to others, some false and made only to serve yourself. Many times I have wanted to disregard it, but I have seen the part of you that touches divinity. I need that man if I am ever to see Itet again. It is for the promise of that man that I will face whatever did that. He points at the carnage before them.
Find that man, be that man, and we can undo the horrors of the past and prevent those yet to come.
He turns and his eyes bore into Adom's. Tears streak down his cheeks. Priest, I have stood at your side as you insult, posture, and maneuver. I have listened to your prayers, some genuine and made in service to others, some false and made only to serve yourself. Many times I have wanted to disregard it, but I have seen the part of you that touches divinity. I need that man if I am ever to see Itet again. It is for the promise of that man that I will face whatever did that. He points at the carnage before them.
Find that man, be that man, and we can undo the horrors of the past and prevent those yet to come.
Last edited October 2, 2016 7:09 am
Oct 2, 2016 4:08 pm
Adom does not know what drove him to comfort the man. Perhaps the horror before them both, and the second reminder in as many days of what he had done to become the priest he is today are acting more powerfully upon him than he would care to admit.
"I saw her in the square just now..."
His eyes widen in surprise, but before he can contemplate what it might mean, a vision, an omen, or just Tefri's own lonely heart crying out, the man has continued speaking, in a tone which touches something inside the priest. Envy, of all things. The man had, has, a wife. And not one who he would be ever have to be afraid of her stabbing him in the back, poisoning him, or simply stepping on him to further her own goals. By instinct, he begins to reel at the thought that he is envious of a slave. Then Tefri turns around.
Adom sees the tears in the man's eyes. That, even more than the look in his eyes, stops the river of his thoughts. And then...
The man speaks as the a vessel of the gods. Adom had told him earlier that Anubis had some plan for each of them, and in this moment, Tefri is turning that abstract notion into a reality in looks, words, and tears. His emotions churn low in his gut: anger at the man's presumption, fear of having to become what he is calling him to be, and shame at... everything he has done to get where he is. But surely, this man, this slave, this outsider has been chosen to deliver this message to Adom. Later he will look back on this moment and imagine Anubis' amusement at the irony of using this man as his messenger.
The priest keeps his eyes locked on Tefri's, not looking at the bodies as the man points to them. As Tefri looks back to him and calls upon him to be the man he should be, Adom finally looks away, to the ground, unconsciously mirroring the actions of a slave. He sheds a tear of his own, and says in a strangled voice "I will try" before turning his face away.
"I saw her in the square just now..."
His eyes widen in surprise, but before he can contemplate what it might mean, a vision, an omen, or just Tefri's own lonely heart crying out, the man has continued speaking, in a tone which touches something inside the priest. Envy, of all things. The man had, has, a wife. And not one who he would be ever have to be afraid of her stabbing him in the back, poisoning him, or simply stepping on him to further her own goals. By instinct, he begins to reel at the thought that he is envious of a slave. Then Tefri turns around.
Adom sees the tears in the man's eyes. That, even more than the look in his eyes, stops the river of his thoughts. And then...
The man speaks as the a vessel of the gods. Adom had told him earlier that Anubis had some plan for each of them, and in this moment, Tefri is turning that abstract notion into a reality in looks, words, and tears. His emotions churn low in his gut: anger at the man's presumption, fear of having to become what he is calling him to be, and shame at... everything he has done to get where he is. But surely, this man, this slave, this outsider has been chosen to deliver this message to Adom. Later he will look back on this moment and imagine Anubis' amusement at the irony of using this man as his messenger.
The priest keeps his eyes locked on Tefri's, not looking at the bodies as the man points to them. As Tefri looks back to him and calls upon him to be the man he should be, Adom finally looks away, to the ground, unconsciously mirroring the actions of a slave. He sheds a tear of his own, and says in a strangled voice "I will try" before turning his face away.
Last edited October 2, 2016 4:11 pm
Oct 2, 2016 8:02 pm
Sabra examines the drag marks and sees that they go all the way to the edge of the temple and continue down, down to the dry reeds that border the low bank of the Nile.
Oct 4, 2016 12:53 pm
After a few moments Ipwet finally comes around the corner of the pillar and rejoins the group. She has regained her sullen demeanor, but it is clearly tempered with a touch of embarrassment. She obviously does not want to address the events of the past few minutes. "So... Anyone have any idea what this scene can tell us about what happened here?" Now that the initial revulsion has passed she starts idly examining the bodies and the brown crust.
OOC:
What kind of state are the bodies in? Are they mostly in-tact or completely mangled and disfigured? Can Ipwet tell what kind of wounds they received?Oct 4, 2016 9:20 pm
OOC:
There are no intact bodies here. There are pieces of limbs, ripped cloth, chunks of... something. There's not enough here to make even one body, let alone four. You might be able to examine the pieces and see if you can learn anything with a roll.
Oct 4, 2016 9:36 pm
OOC:
Would perception or untrained anatomy work? I'm realizing a priest of the dead should probably have some anatomical knowledge. This might be a fun way to start earning some credit towards picking that up.Oct 4, 2016 9:59 pm
OOC:
What/how were they mangled. He has a suspicion that they've been disassembled by either a) A sword-wielding phantom or b) Some sort of crocodile, and this being Sobek's temple, maybe even an incredibly large crocodile avatar of Sobek.Oct 4, 2016 10:00 pm
OOC:
Perfect. Ob is 2, but since you are rolling Beginner's Luck, it's doubled. Ob 4.Oct 4, 2016 10:06 pm
OOC:
At the very least Ipwet will try and examine the remaining pieces and determine if they were ripped, severed, chewed... What type of weapon or instrument did this? Can she use Street-wise at B3? Otherwise she has Streetwise (darkened) or Mending at B2. Could she FoRK any of those with each other?Oct 4, 2016 10:22 pm
Adom turns his whole body away from Tefri, feeling a strange mixture of shame and a lightness of heart. He had not realized what a burden he had been bearing. There are still many secrets locked within him, but as he joins Ipwet in her examinations of the mangled remains, he feels a wave of relief that buoys his spirits enough to deal with the horror before him mostly objectively. He thinks back to his early training as a priest of the dead, half-forgotten lessons about the seats of spirituality in the body. When you can speak directly to Anubis, what need have you to memorize such trivialities. That's what initiates... he pushes the thought away and kneels to examine the rent chunks of flesh.
Last edited October 4, 2016 10:26 pm
Rolls
Perception (Anatomy Beginner's Luck B4 vs. Ob 4) - (4d6)
(5266) = 19
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