Way of the Wicked I: The Knot of Thorns (IC thread)

[Antilles]

You spent a couple hours washing off the smell of prison and frog guts, enjoying eating a fine meal and wearing comfortable clothes again. Eventually Tiadora drops by each of your rooms, except Grumblejack's it seems, to bring you before her master.

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Aiden's Sense Motive check = 1d20+5=11, fails.

Lars' careful scrutiny of the servants reveal they are not only well-trained, they are or have been under so many magical enchantments they are likely completely enthralled by Tiadora.

-----
At last Tiadora leads you to a beautifully appointed office richly decorated with dark wood and sumptuous brocade tapestry. Sitting in a leather high-backed chair is a devilishly handsome fellow who smiles as you enter. “I believe you to be the first to ever escape from Branderscar Prison. Well done! Of course, you had help from the outside,” he says with a wicked smile.

"There'll be another along shortly. He should have been in the cells next to you at Branderscar, sentenced to burn on the pyre. An unfortunate delay meant his arrival at Branderscar would have been too close to the arrival of the high magistrate for comfort, so I had Tiadora fetch him directly. A man with... unique talents, I think you will find..."

“But enough with the pleasantries. You must be curious why I’ve helped you. Rest assured this is no random act of altruism. I have brought you here for a reason. My name is Cardinal Adrastus Thorn. I am the last high priest of Asmodeus left on the island of Talingarde. Once the Prince of Nessus was rightly revered alongside the other great powers. Now, the king of Talingarde has become a puppet to Mitran fanatics who wish to destroy any religion that does not bow to their insipid sun god.

“For their blasphemy, I will see the same people who imprisoned and condemned you suffer. I understand what you went through for I have faced it myself.” With that, he pulls down the sleeve of his robe and reveals his own runic ‘F’ brand. “I am going to burn Talingarde to the ground and from the ashes I will build a new nation that knows its rightful master. I cannot do this alone. I seek servants worthy of our Infernal Father’s majesty. Have I found them in you?”

He looks at each of you in turn. "You, Aiden Elnoth. I offer you the chance to take your revenge not only on the people who killed your parents, but a place as my spearhead in a crusade against the organization that not only condones such acts, but encourages it as well.

You, Drin Dorillion. I offer you arcane knowledge, and a path to magical power that will eventually let you surpass any of the so-called high mages in Talingarde today.

You, Otto Fairfax. I offer you a tutor, the greatest necromancer Talingarde has seen in centuries... and the chance to eventually take that title for yourself.

You, Janus Thorn. I offer you the chance to build a society where there is room for beings like you to grow and thrive, respected and honored, not feared and reviled.

You, Lars Ulren. I offer you the chance to serve our dark father in ways you've only dreamt of.

You, Rampart. I offer you a new purpose, to replace the one you lost when your creator died."

He rises and his eyes flash with hellfire and divine purpose. “Join me! Serve me well in this holy endeavor and I will raise you up in the eyes of gods and men. I will make you princes of the new Talingarde. Today, swear fealty to me and to Asmodeus.

“Put aside forgiveness and I shall give you vengeance. Put aside mercy and be made powerful. Put aside peace and become my harbingers of war. What say you? Will you swear your allegiance or will you burn with the rest of the blind fools?”

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[ludomastro]

Lars' expectations soar as he listens to Cardinal Thorn.  Serving at the side of the last high priest?  Offered power?  There can be no doubt he has been noticed by his lord.

He kneels - as all must to a greater power - and swears his fealty.

[paddyfool]

Drin is impressed, despite himself.  This man, if man he is, has clearly done his research... but then, even Drin's dealings with the fiends of Asmodius' court might well not be secret from one such as this.  And of course, such a one would equally be well known to the fiends... he lets others speak first while quickly reaching out his mind to his diminutive diabolical patron.

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"Kallinvor... I find myself the guest of an individual who tells me he is one Cardinal Thorn, the last high priest of Asmodeus in Talingarde, and he seems intent upon having us swear fealty.  What should I know of him?"

[Antilles]

Drin hears a familiar whisper in his mind...

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"The last high priest of Asmodeus in Talingarde does indeed call himself Cardinal Adrastus Thorn. He is favoured by our Dark Father, knows the true names of devils almost as powerful as I am, and have acquired significant arcane might. In short, my young apprentice, tread carefully around him and do not incur his wrath, lest he utterly destroy you."

[Mister Andersen]

Janus emerges from her bath to find two of the servants waiting in supplication. Pale skinned, dark haired, blue-eyed and very clearly sibblings, one is male and the other female, both showimg signs of the elvish blood of old. Indeed, the myriad pale marks decorating their sculpted and barely clad bodies suggest that blood and pain is probably one of Tiadora's most frequent demands of their service. "The Mistress wasn't sure if you had a preference in your dining habits," the female says. "So she offers you the use of both of us, as you may need," the male adds. "I am not a vampire," she tells them simply even as she observes the arch of their necks and curve of their wrists where they rest on their knees. "The Mistress is aware of this," the female responds. "She is most generous," Janus remarks, moving past them to inspect what else has been brought to her chamber." "She does indeed know how to give," the male answers without a twitch of emotion. The deadpan snark brings a smile to the plant woman's lips. When Tiadora arrives to collect Janus, both of the servants are draped sluggishly over the table amidst the remains of the meal, looking paler than before apart from matching crimson stains on their forearms. "Eat well, Lady Thorn?" "Yes, thank you." --- "...But enough with the pleasantries. You must be curious why I’ve helped you. Rest assured this is no random act of altruism. I have brought you here for a reason. My name is Cardinal Adrastus Thorn. I am the last high priest of Asmodeus left on the island of Talingarde. Once the Prince of Nessus was rightly revered alongside the other great powers. Now, the king of Talingarde has become a puppet to Mitran fanatics who wish to destroy any religion that does not bow to their insipid sun god." Janus' eyes go wide as Thorn announces his name and its promise of a connection to a past that is barely hers. She peers closely at his face, trying to divine some sort of familial resemblance such as she discovered in the painting from the warden's office. "...For their blasphemy, I will see the same people who imprisoned and condemned you suffer. I understand what you went through for I have faced it myself." With that, he pulls down the sleeve of his robe and reveals his own runic 'F' brand. "I am going to burn Talingarde to the ground and from the ashes I will build a new nation that knows its rightful master. I cannot do this alone. I seek servants worthy of our Infernal Father’s majesty. Have I found them in you?" She looks at the faint tracery of the brand even her own remarkable regenerative proclivities seem unable to completely remove. She remembers her arrival at Branderscar, held down by rough hands as Blackersly's leering face, lit by the glow of the brand, looms above. Remembers the searing pain and her own scream. Remembers what they did afterwards in the name of ensuring nothing had been smuggled in. "You, Janus Thorn. I offer you the chance to build a society where there is room for beings like you to grow and thrive, respected and honored, not feared and reviled." Not that they'd been capable of searching thoroughly enough. The meat always under estimates the power of the Green. "...Put aside forgiveness and I shall give you vengeance. Put aside mercy and be made powerful. Put aside peace and become my harbingers of war. What say you? Will you swear your allegiance or will you burn with the rest of the blind fools?" (click to show/hide) Sense Motive: 1d20+6=16 + 1d4.open(4)=11 = 27 Specifically, is he lying about receiving the brand?

[Antilles]

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When Cardinal Thorn doesn't want to be read, he's completely blank to you. However, he doesn't particularly attempt to hide his feelings regarding the brand, and they are remarkably similar to your own feelings from being branded. It would seem he did indeed receive that brand in a situation similar to your own.

[Mister Andersen]

"...Put aside forgiveness and I shall give you vengeance. Put aside mercy and be made powerful. Put aside peace and become my harbingers of war. What say you? Will you swear your allegiance or will you burn with the rest of the blind fools?" "No." The look on everyone's faces must certainly be a thing to be seen, but Janus is paying attention to the Cardinal. "No?" Pure civility. Absolute menace. "Don't misunderstand me, Cardinal: I'm not turning you down." She gestures to the others. "But the allegiance I think you are seeking from us for your master is already claimed from me by the Green Mother. I do not know how I came into this world but I know I am hers and that will not change any more than you would abandon your Prince." Resting her hand on Aiden's shoulder, she continues. "I will serve gladly as one of your harbingers. I will stand -- and if need be fall -- alongside this champion and these others to bring the grey world of harsh lines and smoke that is Talingarde to wrack, ruin, and calamity. And I will claim my share of its carcass, yes. But I do so as my Mother's child."

[Antilles]

Cardinal Thorn smiles and makes a reassuring gesture with his hands. "You are free to worship whichever deity you want, worship of Asmodeus is merely... encouraged, not required. I would be no better than the Mitrans if I tried to force my faith upon you.

But know this: By agreeing to perform this great task, you will be bound by an oath of loyalty to me, and through me Asmodeus. He is the patron of this momentous undertaking, and every task you complete will further his agendas and his glory. If you wish to dedicate your personal victories, resources and glories to your Green Mother, I have no objections to it... provided it doesn't clash with your other loyalties, of course.

Does that allay your concerns?"

[Mister Andersen]

"No. I will work towards those goals you set and support those carrying them out as repayment for your assistance. But while I will not hinder them should they arise, I cannot bind myself to any course of action actively adverse to the Green Mother. I will walk the knife's edge, but I will not break one oath with another."

[Ares]

"NO, PLEASE, NOT THE FIRE, MITRA HAVE MERCY."
He awoke from his own cry. The dream was as intense as the real trial. Blinking he took in his new surroundings. He was in a kind of training hall. Slowly like the trickle of sand in an hourglass he remembered. Mitra and her servants had condemned him for seeking truth. Consorting with infernal powers they had called it. Never mind his intentions or the fact that he had not harmed anyone.
A member of house Barca, even from a minor bloodline, should not have expected to receive mercy.
Death on the pyre the judge had proclaimed. And Mitra had been silent to his plea. Well if not this God, then an other. In the holding cell he had decided to call on the only one who could possible help him survive. How could he not? Survival was after all the most important thing in nature. Morals had been invented to secure the personal survival and that of your offspring.
There was no such thing as good and evil if it came to survival.

He prayed to Asmodeus in the cell, he prayed to Asmodeus on the road to Banderscar prison and to the astonishment of his guards and most of all his own, Asmodeus answered.

The pain was unbelivable, even more than the hot irons of the inquisition. Bony thorns broke through his skin, breaking his bounds. Skales covered him, his beautiful hair fell in big clumps to the floor and small leathery wings grew from his back as well as a massive, muscular tail.

"So that is it like to feel evolution" was the one thought he had. But still he was in his iron cage and the guards cryed in panic. Pure instinct made him lash out with his tail, silencing the guard. But there were more and they readied spears to kill him without coming near to what they called an abomination.

He wasn't sure what happened in the next few moments, but it felt as if a hammer descened from heaven. Blood flowed from ears, eyes and mouths of the guards and he himself tasted the coppery taste on his curiously formed tounge.

A beautiful woman appeared from behind a tree, threw to him a set of keys and said: "Your plea has been answered, now come the master awaits."

Of course he followed. How could he not. Stepping over the still warm corpses of his captors he went to her without looking back even once. Just a moment later they were in this great mansion and she introduced herself as Lady Tiadora. Before he could ask any questions she asked him to wait here to rest and get aquainted to his new form until her Master called. Those words were spoken softly but with unmistakable earnesty. He only bowed his head and did as he was asked.

He had only just remembered all that when the door opened and Tiadora came into view: "Dr. Creamor, the Lord awaits you as do our guests, please come with me."

He rose from the bank where he had napped. His new form was... comfortable, strong and above all he felt a clarity of mind never felt before.
"If the Lord calls, who am I to disobey?
And don't bother with the title, I have a feeling they rescinded those honors and purged my thesis togehter with all my books."

Following through the dark hall, he wondered who his benefactor and those guests would turn out to be. Tiadora opened the door and went into the room beyond. Creamor suddenly became accutely aware of his new form and hung back to stay in the darkness of the hall. Instead he tried to listen intently to the ongoing conversation...

[ludomastro]

Lars is shocked at Janus' response.  He is more amazed by the Cardinal's response.  Tolerance and patience are not what he expected.  His mind reals for a moment.

At last he realizes that the Cardinal is correct - willingness to accommodate others allows his lord's work to continue.  Besides, even slaves can have hope - provided they know their place.

I have much to learn, he thinks to himself.  He then settles in to watch the Cardinal deal with Janus.

[Antilles]

Cardinal Thorn smiles bemusedly at Janus' last comment. "You wish to walk the knife's edge? Very well... I can alter the contract so that you will have equal loyalty to Asmodeus and your god. You will still be expected to further the worship and glory of Asmodeus by carrying out my commands, but if your interests conflict you're free to act as you choose as long as it is not directly hostile towards Asmodean interests."

With a tone of understanding he continues: "And I can promise you that none of the tasks given by me will cause you conflict with your god. You may not have any cause to believe me, but consider this: I need a capable group of individuals such as yourselves to carry out a crucial series of tasks to ensure my plans of vengeance against Talingarde is successful. Anything that would destabilize this group in the middle of an assignment, such as one of its members suffering a crisis of faith brought on by conflicting interests, would greatly jeopardize that group's ability to complete their assigned task as well as potentially dooming my considerable efforts to bring down Talingarde to failure. I am not setting you up for a fall, Janus, it it would cost me so much more than I could possibly gain."

He finishes with a wry smile, "Besides, you are a very capable individual, Janus, are you not? One would think someone as clever as you would be able to find a solution to such conflicts that would be acceptable to both gods..."

[Mister Andersen]

Janus bows in acknowledgement that she's won what ground she can. "Wishing has nothing to do with walking the edge, Cardinal," she answers. "It is simply a matter of will. But I do know this island still has many places that are still wild where what I am and who I was is to your advantage, so yes, I believe our welfare is your concern. Is it true that you sign your contracts in blood like the common meat of Talingarde still rumour?"