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Completed Chapter IV: Forgotten Sands

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"When the eyes of the guardians are upon you," said the golden specter, "the angel will show you favor." And then he disappeared in fading cinders like last time.


"Well, let's have a look around. Tread carefully, everyone." said Meric, stepping forth with his torch. He went to the middle of the chamber to shed more light on things. Laurolf and Feyn followed with weapons ready. From this point, nearly the whole chamber was visible. In the center was a circle of white marble and there were four wingless knight statues around it, on the corners of the center so to speak. They were all facing away from the pedestal in diagonal directions with their swords pointed outwards as if protecting what was supposed to be in the middle.


Beyond that, on the far side of the room was a heavy-looking double wooden gate inscribed with runes and a portrayal of a watchful angel.
 
The pedestal was very low, so it was more of a step up than a climb, but it was a good observation point. Nothing happened whatsoever when Dina positioned herself on the marble circle just big enough for one person to stand on, or at least nothing apparent happened.
 

Vittorio Valtieri

The Gentleman Necromancer



​



Valtieri walks into a corner facing a statue, and eyes it curiously for any reaction. After that, he approaches the statue and examines the base. Leaning around it to look at Dina, he gives it an experimental push at a corner.
 
The statue appears finely crafted, striking a fearsome pose with an extended sword. Upon close examination, the base of it seems to be slightly above ground - Valtieri discovers that the statues are actually placed on pedestals themselves, very low ones so that they're barely off the ground. Pushing at the corner seems to force movement... slightly.


Finding himself next to the necromancer and realizing his intention, the dwarf helps and together they manage to rotate the statue in a clockwise fashion; about one quarter of a rotation. The sculpture is either heavier than it appears, or the mechanism has been worn out over the centuries.
 

Vittorio Valtieri

The Gentleman Necromancer



​



Valtieri nods to the dwarf, leaning heavily on his staff. "Thank you, but I fear that's my strength spent. I'm sure some of these fine young people could turn the statues to face the centre, though." He says, a twinkle in his eye.
 
"Of course, it makes perfect sense." said Meric, waving to Silverlane to help him with the next statue. Xenthriss and Feyn each took a statue for themselves, not looking particularly eager to get too close to one another.


As Dina and Laurolf rotate the statue, suddenly it clicks into place. Its outstretched blade is now pointing directly at the center of the room.
 

Tharos Silverlane

The Sword of Ages

​



Tharos stood on the the opposite side of the statue from Meric and grabbed ahold wherever he could. With the elf, the two rotated the statue by force until it was facing the center.
 
With the last statue clicking into place, all four are now pointing at the center of the chamber and as expected, the door on the other side opens into darkness.


"Well, easy enough." says Meric. "I wonder what's next."


And he leads the way into the next chamber. Xenthriss immediately follows, seemingly growing bored.
 

Vittorio Valtieri

The Gentleman Necromancer



​



"Remarkable, that this place should remain so untouched." Valtieri notes, shuffling after Xenthriss and Meric. "Were people perhaps duller when this was built?"
 

Violet Robbins

The Magpie Archer

​



Violet stretched as she walked with the rest, hoping that the rest of the trial might be as easy as the one they had passed, It was unrealistic, and she knew, but after the fight they had had earlier; she wouldn't mind if the dungeon would ease up just a bit.
 


Dina Ailsa​




http://www.rpdom.com/threads/dina-ailsa.53054/http://www.rpdom.com/threads/dina-ailsa.53054/Lost Child of Asgard

http://www.rpdom.com/threads/dina-ailsa.53054/http://www.rpdom.com/threads/dina-ailsa.53054/







Dina pranced to the door and beyond. She froze just for an instant to try for a contact with the plant life. Dina wondered if the plants were at their final destination here in the temple and if so, how far ahead were they. Maybe her stop was longer that an instant, but she wouldn't know while concentrating on her goal.
 
Singer. You're getting closer.


A contact. And no Ghosty to interrupt! If it seemed too good to be true, that's because it was. Dina soon lost her focus when something - someone - bumped into her. Feyn pops up from behind her, muttering an apology under her breath. Then Laurolf comes up behind the girl, gently nudging her towards the exit. "Come on, lass. We're the last ones."


As soon as everyone was in the next chamber, the doors closed shut behind them. In the utter darkness they had already grown accustomed to, they were immediately greeted by the angel's statue flanked by one guardian knight statue on each side. Without ado, the statue blazes into life as the previous ones, and their guide steps forth.


"You arrive at the third challenge." it says. "Only the sinless one can help you here. Deliver him, if you know justice." Having spoken, the specter's golden form dissolves into cinders once again.


"Lads... you're not going to like this." said Laurolf. He had gone ahead to chase away the shadows, and his torchlight revealed several rectangular holes in the center of the room. "Dug graves."


"And you're going to like this even less..." said Meric. As the bearer of the second torch, he had gone ahead as well, exploring all the way to the other side of the room. The chamber was somewhat larger than the previous one, but in addition to the exit gate there was an old, makeshift gallows constructed directly in front of it. Six bodies lay hanged with bags over their heads and nooses tightened around. Unnerving to say the least.
 

Vittorio Valtieri

The Gentleman Necromancer



​




I suppose it would be against the spirit of the task to inquire what they are, if the live, and how long.


Valtieri shuffles over to the bodies, examining them closely, air of a professional about him.


"Condemned, can you speak? I presume we are to determine your innocence." He glances at the angel statue, shakes his head, and continues looking with the deathly sight of his calling.
 
Laurolf kept his distance while Valtieri examined the hanging bodies, not being too fond of the Dark Arts. Xenthriss, on the other hand, was a whole different story. The massive drakkar stood erect right next to him - studying Valtieri or the necromancer's object of attention, it was hard to tell.


Upon inspection, all corpses, though not identical, seem to be in the same condition - tight, waxy, grey skin with purple discoloring where visible (they are all clad in simple, black cloth), muscles relaxed, bare hands and feet blue in between lividity pools - all suggesting that they are actually only several hours old. Or would be, if these were regular corpses, but given the nature of the place they must have been magically created, especially if they had served in this challenge chamber since the place was built. That said, it was also possible they were merely convincing illusions. There is nothing else worth noting except a piece of parchment woven into their clothes with string at the chest. It has a single word written in red, possibly blood. Each of the six corpses has such a note, and they read, respectively from left to right:


COUNTERFEITER


THIEF


MURDERER


RAPIST


MUTINEER


BLOOD MAGE


The sixth sign evidently makes Xenthriss nervous.
 


Dina Ailsa​




http://www.rpdom.com/threads/dina-ailsa.53054/http://www.rpdom.com/threads/dina-ailsa.53054/Lost Child of Asgard

http://www.rpdom.com/threads/dina-ailsa.53054/http://www.rpdom.com/threads/dina-ailsa.53054/







Dina smiled slightly at the positive answer from the plant life but that smile was swiftly washed away at the sight of their next challenge. Dina's hand rushed to her mouth after a quick intake of breath. It took a few moments for her to recover and to begin thinking about this riddle. If this was a trial, it will make a time consuming challenge.


Dina followed Vittorio with a curious gaze as he went around inspecting the condemned as he called them.
 

Tharos Silverlane

The Sword of Ages

​



Tharos figured that this is where Vittorio would help greatly. Due to his ability in the form of necromancy, he may have the ability to commune with the unfortunate souls hanging before them. The knight loosened the blade on his hip for safety purposes. The air in this chamber was not one that he could enjoy. He stood over one of the unoccupied graves and examined it. What kind of challenge is this? If these are my ancient kin, they had a very unique way of doing things.
 
Close examination shows that the typically looking grave is empty. On its side there's a small, mundane tombstone set in place. In simple script it reads:


Here rests a son of deceit.


He cheated and manipulated others,


So in the end he got what he deserved.


He could not trick his way from death.
 


Dina Ailsa​




http://www.rpdom.com/threads/dina-ailsa.53054/http://www.rpdom.com/threads/dina-ailsa.53054/Lost Child of Asgard

http://www.rpdom.com/threads/dina-ailsa.53054/http://www.rpdom.com/threads/dina-ailsa.53054/







"I would guess this belongs to the counterfeiter. I wonder what would happen if we were to free it of the rope and lay it here. But that would mean delivering him, right? And we don't know if he is indeed guilty as charged. " Dina thought out loud upon getting over her initial discomfort and joining Tharos by the grave for a second. She moved closer to the second grave then, grave next to the one Tharos was examining, curious if she would find some kind of a similar script upon its tombstone. A shiver went down Dina's spine. She couldn't help it. This place was scaring her a little but she was trying to hide it.
 
The adjacent grave looks almost identical to the other one, with the exception of the tombstone which features a different epitaph:


Here rests a son of lust.


His own urges he could not control,


Relishing in the screams he caused.


Violating the last one was his fall.


"Yes, we need to be careful." Meric said, passing by Dina with his torch. He paused briefly to give her a reassuring look. "According to the specter, one of these men did not commit the crime he was hanged for. We need to find out who is innocent before we do anything else." The elf paused by a third grave, discovering its unique epitaph:


Here rests a son of death.


With vicious wrath he struck at others,


Without remorse sapping their lives.


He earned neither mercy nor pardon.
 

Vittorio Valtieri

The Gentleman Necromancer



​



Valtieri goes to inspect all the headstones personally. Especially the remaining three, pondering all the while.


Too old, too unnatural, and too specific for the Art to aid me here. Though hanging a counterfeiter seems rather harsh.
 
Inspection of the remaining tombstones reveals the rest of the epitaphs:


Here rests a son of greed.


Caught at last in dead of night,


No more will he stalk houses after dark.


Dead now, forever parted from the sun.


Then:


Here rests a son of betrayal.


This one harbored rebellious thoughts,


Until the day he unleashed them all.


There is but one fate for treason.


And finally:


Here rests a son of temptation.


One who reached for the darkest power,


Paying no heed to the blood it cost.


In the end he paid with his life.
 


Dina Ailsa​




http://www.rpdom.com/threads/dina-ailsa.53054/http://www.rpdom.com/threads/dina-ailsa.53054/Lost Child of Asgard

http://www.rpdom.com/threads/dina-ailsa.53054/http://www.rpdom.com/threads/dina-ailsa.53054/







I have no idea what to look for here. I doubt trying every one of them out would help. There must be some protection against that even. Dina sighed heavily. She was going in circles, walking past all graves, then all corpses hoping they overlooked something. Some clue, trap, anything. "Does anyone have any idea how we should go about this challenge?" She said, sounding sad. Useless again.
 

Vittorio Valtieri

The Gentleman Necromancer



​



Valtieri stands before the bodies, idly stroking his beard.


"The sinless one, the specter said. A trick question, perhaps? I've never met an adult without sin." He leans on his staff.


"I'm inclined to assume the our man is the counterfeiter, but what do the rest of you think?"
 
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