Chapter 4: The Cold Chains of Hell

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Urson
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Re: Chapter 4: The Cold Chains of Hell

#61 Post by Urson »

Jake

Jake takes posession of the dagger, grinning a goofy teenage grin at how "awesome" it looks. Thank you, Bear.

Jake takes a lead position, near the front of the group.

Maybe this is the Old Smith. I s'pose somebody should step in and say hello... You want me to do it?
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Re: Chapter 4: The Cold Chains of Hell

#62 Post by ChubbyPixie »

Finally catching his breath, Blix nods to the princess in thanks, then informs her and the others: ”In there?... that’s Oldrich. Religious fella. Kind of, you know... banana-crackers? Screw loose.”

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Re: Chapter 4: The Cold Chains of Hell

#63 Post by coil23 »

The librarian chooses one of the maces with a grateful nod. And he inquires as to being given sufficient water for the flesh among them before setting off in the dunes.

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Re: Chapter 4: The Cold Chains of Hell

#64 Post by Pulpatoon »

Before leaving Medved's Glittering Tower, the party arms themselves.
Blix chooses a jeweled cavalry saber. Due to it's high quality, it does d8 damage. But it is conspicuously valuable, and likely to arouse larcenous passions.
Jake takes the primitive dagger. Enchanted, of course. d6+1 damage, d6+2 vs. corporeal undead.
Horton takes possession of the less ostentatious of the maces (also d8 due to masterwork quality, but doesn't announce its value at quite such a volume as Blix's saber) and the Hyborean scroll.
Splinters retains his Eldish polearm and musket.
The Princess eschews armament, as is meet and proper for her station.
You are provided with provisions for a days travel. When Horton asks for additional water, the bears responds, "Don't get lost, reach Old Smith by afternoon. Get lost, trade with centaurs."

The party approaches the morose and ruined head of Ozymandiavich, King of Kings, and politely enquire upon its inhabitant. From the darkness within the hollow shell emerges woodsmoke, body odor, and an agitated voice: "Alms? Bringst alms? Foods? To eat that we might be better? Prayers? Bringst prayers for His Glory?"

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Hey! My schedule should be a bit lighter! Let's have a mid-week update, this Wednesday! Okay?

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Re: Chapter 4: The Cold Chains of Hell

#65 Post by ChubbyPixie »

Blix looks sideways at the others, gauging their reactions. ”Shall we... you know... it’s kind of considered good form to donate some food or something.” He clops over to the head and peeks in through any accessible orifice. “Hiya. We bring food? What news?” He pokes some dry rations through the nostril.

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Re: Chapter 4: The Cold Chains of Hell

#66 Post by Pulpatoon »

A withered hand with papery skin and knuckles like walnuts emerges from the dark of the nostril and closes around Blix's offering. A bristle of beard moves in the shadows, and the voice responds, "The news is that the Golden Wheel still turneth, still burneth, driven neither by lowness of axle nor yoke. Knowest the exultations of the Sun Lord? Casteth light upon the earth, upon poor and rich, wise and foolish, hero-cults and companions, the hard-eared humans and bribe-eating centaurs and drum-hearted bears. And absorbeth the fading gods and lost pretenders to divinity."

A brittle-boned ascetic crawls out from the shadows, and stands up, grimacing in the light. He raises his frail arms and intones:
"He shineth when Marzana tires of her second life among the Foreign Gods.
He shineth when the great mountains of ice drive Pahr and his family from the fields of paradise.
He shineth when Mirko awakes on his bed of sand to wrestles the Old Bear.
He shineth when Medved blinks his eyes over the Dunes."


Blinking milky eyes at the party, he asks with trembling voice, "Wouldst worship with me?"

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Update on Wednesday, if enough responses come it, or next weekend, if not.

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Urson
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Re: Chapter 4: The Cold Chains of Hell

#67 Post by Urson »

Jake
Jake rummages in his pockets and finds a chunk of rock candy- only slighty fuzzy with pocket lint. He wipes at it as best he can, then passes it to the elder.

He kneels when the old man mentions worship.
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Re: Chapter 4: The Cold Chains of Hell

#68 Post by ChubbyPixie »

From behind the hermit, Blix looks to the others and shrugs. ”Ah... I’m not huge on kneeling, per se, because, you know...” He gestures at his lower half. ”Is kneeling mandatory?”

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Re: Chapter 4: The Cold Chains of Hell

#69 Post by Starbeard »

"If you have a screened balcony from whence royals and ladies may observe the ritual, We would be most happy to accompany you in your worship," says The Princess.

Looking about and finding that she few baubles left to offer, she looks for a jewelled or polished button from her dress that she can pop off and hand over as an offering.

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Re: Chapter 4: The Cold Chains of Hell

#70 Post by coil23 »

Horton will offer some meager but heartfelt offering and then kneel when the offer is made. We would be honored, Elder.

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Re: Chapter 4: The Cold Chains of Hell

#71 Post by Pulpatoon »

The old man's movements become hasty in excitement as he realizes he has a willing audience. He launches into a sing-song oratory, as he weaves in and out amongst you. He smells of dust and body odor, and does not respect your personal space.

O ye gathered, listen to the savant of savants, chanter of lullabies, chiseler of gratuities! With the sun-warmed breath of the Dunes in my ear, even my throat might sing sweetly of this turtle-bound world!

First there was the Void, the yawning nullity, a crazy jumble of nothingness.

In the beginning, tiring of the demons, the Overgod floated into the Insufferable Void on his great galley, seeking the measure of his being.

The Overgod was restless, troubled, and overeager for evolution. After listening to the ungrateful, sideways stories of the Void, he became impatient. “I must begin my work again,” he said.

Balls of burning vapor he hurled into the reaches of the Void. Around these balls he spun snooker balls of rock, metal, ice and gas. Great rings he placed and these too he set spinning.

And the Overgod grew frustrated and weary. In his weariness he invented Drink in order to forget his care.

And the Overgod drank and drank and drank.

And soon he was joyous, dancing upon his creations. “I CAN TAKE YOU ALL, MOTHERFUCKERS!” he roared before slipping off the shoulders of a gas giant. Then he slept for a great aeon and Drink spilt and covered many of the rocks.

He slept and slept and in those wet, yeasty places grew Ocean.

When Overgod woke, his head felt smitten by the burning hammers of demons. “What have I done with my Drink?” he wondered...


The old man drones on, moving the entire time, touching each of you lightly as he passes—unless anyone attempts to interrupt or ask a question. Then he darts out a bony limb to quickly rap the skull of the offender, and his voice takes on a brief pout until he loses himself in his chanting once again.

Those of you who can muster the patience to listen all the way through, gather the following points about the local cosmology:
This land (or, perhaps, world) is called Zěm.

Far away, there are the Corelands, a place of civilization. Though wars, political machinations, plagues, and the rest of the human drama play out here, the laws of civilization, nature, and heaven are all fairly ordered and constant.

Then, there is the Weird, where the Veil Between the Worlds has split apart and spilled out the flotsam and jetsam of other worlds and times. Here be monsters and dreams. Geography is exaggerated and uncoupled from the expectations of other lands.

Between the two lie the contested Borderlands. Magic functions here, but civilization exists here too, if spare and tentative. You find yourselves in one such Borderland, the Hill Cantons.

Heretics, runaways, poets, and the sociopaths and picaros who call themselves adventurers flock to the Borlderlands, as irresistible and nauseating as a tainted cheese. The Weird gets in their blood, and many who return to the Core after too long on the Border die a short time later of strange maladies.

The old man himself is an adherent of Solarity, a heretic cast out of Supernal Orthodox Temple of the Puissant Sun Lord. The religion is roughly monotheistic, in that it claims all other gods are weak and dying, meat on the plate of the One True Sun.

All in all, it is an extremely tedious way to pass an afternoon, and yet, somehow, it doesn't really occur to you to get up and leave, even as your muscles cramp from being in one position to long, and as the sour fog of the old man's stink clings you. By the time Oldrich winds down his sermon, it is dark, and very cold, and a few bright stars begin to sparkle in the clear night sky.

And, incidentally, Oldrich as healed everyone (hp and STR), whether flesh or wood, to full capacity.

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Urson
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Re: Chapter 4: The Cold Chains of Hell

#72 Post by Urson »

Jake

The boy was raised to be devout, so he forces himself to stay put. Unfortunately, he can't stifle an occasional giggle or snort at some of the goofier bits of the old man's chanting.
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Re: Chapter 4: The Cold Chains of Hell

#73 Post by ChubbyPixie »

Blix is able, like his more fully equestrian cousins, to sleep standing up, which he does from time to time. He makes it all the way to the parable about the geiser and the mudskipper before dozing off the first time. Luckily, his tribe, by way of adulthood initiation, requires the tattooing of false eyes on the eyelids, so in these moments of unconsciousness, if anything, he seems overly attentive, crazily enraptured by the prophet’s sermon.

”Oh!” he says with a start. ”Elucidating sermon, brother. I quite enjoyed it.” Realizing it is full dark he adds, ”We should probably travel by night, to avoid the heat of the day. Also, to waste no time getting to our destination. ...eh, where are you guys going again?”

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Re: Chapter 4: The Cold Chains of Hell

#74 Post by coil23 »

Amen. Thank you, Elder. The librarian makes stretching cramped muscles look like appreciation for the man's art. Working among scholars for so long, Horton has sat through his share of tedious presentations.

So, do we travel the Hill Cantons in search of civilization and hope we do not tread too near the Weird? Other ideas?

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Re: Chapter 4: The Cold Chains of Hell

#75 Post by Starbeard »

The Princess cocks an eyebrow at the sermon, but is polite enough not to show any further response to the old man's vulgar nonsense.

"Our first order of business is to rest for the evening. In the morning we can decide where to journey, but the Hill Cantons seem the easiest to reach from here, and most accessible to proper civilisation."


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Re: Chapter 4: The Cold Chains of Hell

#77 Post by Urson »

Jake

The boy glances sidewise at The Princess, but nods.
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Re: Chapter 4: The Cold Chains of Hell

#78 Post by coil23 »

Yes, rest and full canteens will make for a better journey. The librarian is about to do some stretches to regain circulation after the long sermon then looks down dispiritedly to recall he is now wooden. Well, at least I won't be hogging the water.

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Re: Chapter 4: The Cold Chains of Hell

#79 Post by Urson »

Jake

If you don't mind our staying the night, sir... Jake glances at the old hermit/ holy man.

I'd say we should at least check in with Old Smith. Maybe he's got something we need- or maybe we can do him a good turn.
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Urson
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Re: Chapter 4: The Cold Chains of Hell

#80 Post by Urson »

Anyone else got 2 cent's worth to throw in??
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