"I don't know, Elvar. I thought we were headed for some initiation rite." Lorant tugs at the doors to his cell, but they hold fast.
"Did they take your stuff too?"
"It might be wise to just wait. Seeing as we all woke up at once, they must have something planned for us."
Kaylee has Fernis. There is light beyond this room, you just can't see it on the map.
Elvar shrugs off Lorants question and ignores him.
I am tempted to try a detect magic but I'm not sure about Elvar so I save it.
An Acolyte enters the room. He is carrying a tray with 6 bowls of water.
"Finally. Hey, what gives? I thought we were joining the Church, not being prisoners. Can you let us out?"
Do not speak! the Acolyte shouts at lorant. He then takes a bowl and dumps the water on the ground.
The Acolyte hands everybody a bowl to drink from except Lorant.
Kerret opens his mouth, clearly about to say something, and closes it just as quickly.
He takes a sip from his bowl, and places it carefully on the floor of his cell, well away from the door.
Kaylee watches the acolyte in silence, sipping carefully from her bowl. She then shares some of the water with Fenris, glad that he was able to stay by her side. She pets him as he drinks and waits for the acolyte to leave.
ACOLYTE: "We require more time to make preparations. Stay here and remain silent until we are ready for you."
Kerret quietly looks the Acolyte over, eyes peeled for a set of keys, or anything else of note.
Kaylee wordlessly holds out her nearly empty water bowl out towards the acolyte with a sad expectant look on her face. She does not hold it out past the bars in case he decides to become mean and knock it away, instead waiting to see if he seems willing to refill the bowl for her.
The Acolyte gives Kaylee a hard stare before exiting, ignoring her silent request for more water.
Kerret settles down onto his straw mattress and waits for the acolyte to leave, amusing himself by picking fleas out of his hair.
After the acolyte leaves, Kaylee gives her bowl to Lorant.
"Sorry it's not much, I was hoping he would refill it." she says softly to him.
Lector remains silent, sipping his water with a calculating expression as he watches the acolytes.
I drink some of my water, then see if I can pass the rest along to Lorant.
"Perhaps this is a test of our commitment. Shouldn't we learn more about the Living God first?"
The masked, black-robed priest paces down the narrow stone hallway, quick behind him are 2 more Acolytes carrying what looks to be a stack of fresh, folded laundry. The Black Robe looks in each cell then says “I must apologize for the way that you were brought here,” he begins with a calm, even tone. “We must be sure that you are pure and properly prepared to join the faith. Today you shall fast and meditate on the glory of Razmir. On the morrow you shall be sworn in and given your masks, made one with the body of Razmir; one piece of the greater whole. You shall become acolytes, and be allowed upon the third step of enlightenment. Rejoice! The path of glory and fortune shall be open to you.”
Kerret remains silent, settling into a calm breathing exercise to focus his energy.
Remembering the act, I do my best to grin and look relieved as I nodd along with the acolyte's words.
Lorant scowls as his water is poured on the floor. When the acolyte leaves, he takes a small sip from Kaylee's bowl. "Thanks."
When the black-robed priest appears, Lorant is more reserved in his reaction. He crosses his arms showing that he is less than pleased with being treated like this, but ultimately nods at the priest. He settles back down against the wall, idling picking at the stones.
Its hard to tell if The Black Robed one is pleased with your compliance. With that The Acolytes hand each of you a metal mask, the same as which each other follower wears, but the keep the robes.
The Black Robe adds: "Sit here and reflect on your past lives and whats to come. Your mind must be free of doubt before becoming a true member of the faith."
With that, he turns and promptly exits the room along with the 2 Acolytes.
I fiddle with the mask, figuring out how to fit it on my face.
"I hope this is worth all the effort."
"After this, only twenty-nine more steps to go," Lector remarks dryly, turning the metal mask around in his hands.
Kerret does his best to surreptitiously cast message, pointing at Vastar, Lorant, Kaylee and Rhomelus.
If you all can hear me, go ahead and whisper back.
"Ah, a handy spell. I imagine could be quite useful," Lector whispers with a thin smile. The detective raises the mask, placing it on his face. "So 'on the morrow,' we shall be among their numbers. Things are going smoothly enough."
"Yeah, I can hear you. Good work." Lorant whispers back. He examines the mask given to him, but doesn't wear it just yet. He eyes Elvar but remains quiet.
"Very handy."
Good. Finally something goes our way. So, what should we do? Try to get out of these cells, or bide our time? Kaylee, what about having Fenris scout around, maybe we could find some keys to the cells...
While he waits for the others to reply, Kerret casts detect magic on a whim and examines the masks that have been handed out.
Please be quiet. I'm trying to free my mind of doubt!
the masks are plain, ordinary metal masks. No significance or magic outside of reasonable doubt.
Lorant sits idly in his cell, clearly not meditating or praying in the traditional sense, but the man is alone with his thoughts. He tries to watch Elvar's movements, but doesn't engage the man again after being rebuffed twice. He's mindful of trying to continue acting as an initiate would and he keeps quiet.
After 24 hours the The Man in Black Robes returns to the cells with 6 Acolytes. "It is now time to swear you in as members of the faith. Follow me to The Worship Hall. But first I must ask that you all wear these." He hands out a blindfold to each of you then unlocks every cell.
Kerret accepts the blindfold with some reservations.
The 24 hours of considerable discomfort do not sit well by Lector, but he manages to pass the time in his mind without complaint. He takes the blindfold offered without question and puts it on.
Lorant takes the blindfold and puts it on. He stays silent.
Kerret keeps a tight grip on his mask, but does not put it on until instructed to do so.
I juggle the mask and bindfold before settling on tucking the mask under my arm and wearing the blindfold.
"Very good," The Man in Black robes says. "You, remove the lights." He instructs one of the Acolytes to do. The room goes pitch black. "No peeking now. This area is restricted to high ranking priests only." Each of the Acolytes guides one of you out of the room. Not far past, you can hear the sound of a heavy metal door close and lock. You turn left then are escorted up a flight of stairs. Through your blindfold you can see that is is again light here.
"You may remove your blindfolds now." Upon doing so, you find yourselves in a room not unlike an Armory. There are racks of weapons and shields lined up along 2 high shelves. You are then ushered into where you are instructed to wait. The Man in Black Robes enters the door to the East from which you catch a glimpse of a large worship chamber filled with Razmirian followers. From beyond the door you can hear praise of Razmir and talk of new members until which you are asked to enter the room.
A large crowd of masked priests waits in the temple. While white robes shroud most of them, some wear gray, and a few wear black. In the center of the chamber rises a gigantic staircase, atop of which glitters a porcelain and gold mask, the holy symbol of Razmir. On the eighth step of the stairs stands the black-robed priest, who says gravely, “Come forward.”
When the you reach the bottom of the stairs, the priest asks you one at a time to stand upon the Third step, but no higher than that and to don your masks. Here, other priests hand you white robes and help you put them on. After you are dressed, the entire congregation chants, “All hail Razmir” until the next person steps upon the third stair. Once all of you don your masks to signify your acceptance into the temple, The Man in Black Robes welcomes you to the faith and declares that Krant will tutor you in the ways of the Living God. Once You have proved yourselves worthy and capable, you will become free members, able to do what you please and given all of your possessions back. Until that time, you must follow Krant’s teaching to the letter.
With that, the ceremony comes to a close and the other cultists file out of the room. Krant waits for everyone to leave before explaining all of the rules that an acolyte must follow.
Krant is a very large man, both in height and girth and appears to be both ugly and brutish.
Lorant quickly does a mental inventory of the Temple's weapons and armor before they head out to the ceremony. When it's his turn he steps up to the third step and receives his robes. He sizes up Krant to see what kind of harm he might pose.
I follow along obediently, looking forward to wearing a mask so that I can pull a few grimaces. The whole time I rack my mind: who can we gossip with? Where can we find records or maps?
Lector is attentive and reverent all throughout the ceremony, nodding and exhibiting graciousness when appropriate. Once Krant is introduced as their tutor, the detective places all of his focus on him, clearly eager to learn.
Kerret keeps a beatific expression on his face all throughout the ceremony, and dons his mask with grave reverence when the time comes. Once the group is left alone with Krant, Kerret turns his focus to the man, assuming a humble stance and waiting patiently for instruction.
Krant looks to be particularly a strong individual. Though far from physically fit he looks like he could break your arm through the table in an arm wrestle. Due to his large size though he doesn't look to be too quick on his feet and when he speaks he slurs his words and gives the vibe that he wasn't blessed with a vast intellect.
Krant addresses you on the rules of the faith and your new daily routine. "Failure to comply with either will provoke swift punishment from the elder priests or by me" he mentions in a malicious tone.
- Razmir is the god above all other gods. Those who would claim otherwise are jealous of His glory and spread lies in an attempt to tarnish his mask.
- Those who follow the steps of the Living God will be rewarded with glory and riches. Those who turn from His path shall have neither.
- Razmiran, the realm of the Living God on this world, is sacred ground, and it is the duty of every believer to protect and enrich this sacred place. Every temple to Razmir is an extension of this sacred realm.
- Those who have ascended the steps speak with the authority of the Living God. Failing to obey them is akin to disobeying the will of Razmir Himself.
- Tithing to the faith is a holy responsibility. The faith of Razmir must have the resources to fight against His enemies, who use their vast sums of ill-gotten wealth to spread lies and deceit.
- Those who do not believe must be converted to the faith of Razmir by showing them the glory and wealth that awaits them in His service. Those who refuse are corrupted by the unfaithful and should be denied such luxuries.
- Only those who believe in the Living God deserve a life of plenty and pleasure. Others must suffer and toil until they see the light of Razmir.
- The mask of the Living God is a divine vessel. Behind its protective embrace, His followers can speak the will of Razmir without fear of rebuke. His followers must wear the mask whenever they deal with nonbelievers, so that they might come to fear His image.
- The followers of Razmir act as one. Through anonymity comes solidarity, with each part working together to further His glory.
7:00 a.m. Arise. New acolytes are wakened by Krant and taken into the dining hall for breakfast.
7:30 a.m. Simple labor in the yard. This usually involves cleaning up the stables, splitting timber, unloading deliveries and weapon and armor maintenance.
11:00 a.m. Prayer and tutelage in the temple. Egarthis descends from the second floor to instruct the Acolytes (new and old) in the power and glory of Razmir, telling about his mighty deeds, his generous gifts,
and his incredible power.
12:00 p.m. Lunch.
12:30 p.m. Cleaning. The new acolytes must clean the first floor of the temple.
3:30 p.m. Afternoon prayer. All acolytes must attend.
4:30 p.m. Training. The new acolytes are taken out into the yard and trained how to interact with the public.
7:00 p.m. Dinner.
7:30 p.m. Evening prayer.
9:30 p.m. Transcription. The final 2 hours of the day copying holy texts by candlelight in area 4.
After this, Krant does not take any questions and orders you into the yard for a series of exercises, drills, and other relatively boring manual labor. He explains that your ordinary routine will start tomorrow, and allows you to eat with the others, after which you are shown where to sleep (area 8).
Lorant tries not to roll his eyes at the rules and not let his distaste show on his face. Faithful get rewards, the rest get punished. Sounds wonderful
He tries to keep him mouth shut as they are directed to do tasks. Lorant finds himself pulling weeds for a few hours, cursing at the plants under his breath every so often. Soon he is later moved to carrying bricks and firewood until his muscles are aching. He is happy when it seems done and they are allowed to eat with each other.
"Well, that was fun today," he says sarcastically. "And it seems like we have lots more ahead of us. Though I'm interested in how they will teach us to interact with the public."
Kerret ends up mucking out the stables, and finds himself swarmed by flies and surrounded by dessicated horse apples. I don't think anyone's ever cleaned these out! he whines internally, but keeps at the task, doing his best to memorize the edicts set out by Krant the Great Oaf he thinks, chuckling internally.
Once they are allowed to eat, Kerret agrees with Lorant. Yes, I can't wait to spread the glory of Razmir to the whole world!
Kerret surreptitiously casts his message cantrip again once they are in the sleeping quarters.
Lector dedicates the rules of the faith to memory, murmuring them under his breath as though they were a mantra. They were not terribly complicated, but they spoke volumes about the cult's modus operandi. He suppresses a shudder at the thought of the promise of 'glory and wealth,' remembering a time long past. But that was then.
He manages to conceal his displeasure with performing manual labor, having to suppress more than one grimace. By the time they finally get to the sleeping quarters, his fingers are tingling.
"Not yet. We should get a handle on this place's routine, at least for now. I am also interested in how we will have to handle... public relations."