Some slaves come in of every sort and lead Grumblejack to a separate room for some rest and healing. The slaves offer to take you to bathe and change into appropriate clothing for someone they all refer to as Master prefers to be called Arch Bishop
Augier eyes the woman warily and glances at the half-orc that met her. Yea, would have been short a head without your help. His eyes dart around since he feels out of his element in such a place.
Audi ibn Jad bows to the familiar woman.
By the Ancestors, much gratitude.
The 1/2 orc avails himself of the offered amenities.
The rooms are well appointed and the baths and meals are hot. The clothing is warm and good as well.
Augier entered the room rather eagerly when he heard that there was food.
Unfortunately, that cursed cat was there again and was smugly sitting there amongst the empty dishes and licking it's paws when he entered.
Augier clenched his fists but knew it was useless to try to do anything and instead wandered off to the kitchens for any leftovers.
Wiktor reluctantly surrenders his grubby apron and acquiesces to a bath.
Despite the scalding waters and servants scrubbing, the grave dirt under his nails fails to be cleansed.
Dressed, he casts his eye o'er the fair offered, before picking at his food with a lament;
"Vhy spoil meat with the heat of the spit and spices? Cold... unspoiled... flesh tastes vunderful. Wiktor knows. The maggots too."
"Oh, I'll have his then." she says from her scalding hot bath. "We might as well enjoy everything before the bill comes due."
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Augier chalks up another flaw in Wiktor, no taste what so ever. No spice??! Outrageous.
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Unfortunately, that cursed cat was there again and was smugly sitting there amongst the empty dishes and licking it's paws when he entered.
While normal cats usually detested water and bathing, Talia was rather fond of the pampering a good bath could provide. She indulged in the warm, soapy water, soaking for quite some time. If any servants offered to help wash or comb her fur, she gladly allowed them, and would start purring contentedly over such attention.
After the nice, long bath, she lounged around her room while occasionally grabbing a bite of food. Truly, she was reveling in the luxury provided.
The night passes by a some more time uneventfully. A few times some of you might even nap . The slaves continue to pamper your wants.
Augier manages to get some stew and bread from the kitchens and eats before heading to the bath. Glaring the at the servants, he cleans himself before pulling on a simple shirt and pants.Hmpph too much frippery.
More time passes...
After washing and resting and dressing in something that's not burlap, she nods to the others, "I suppose we should see the Arch Bishop. I expect that there's a reason he chose to help our escape. I sense that a bill is coming due."
Yea, busting us out like that is going to cost us plenty, and it looks like saying no isn't gunna go well.
Wiktor shrugs between ginger mouthfuls of fresh foodstuffs and being measured for new hosiery.
"Ve faced execution... Rope, axe or pyre."
The gaunt sorcerer then dons garb in a shade of mauveine;
"So, anything this Arch Bishop offers is better fate. Wiktor is in his debt no matter vhat the cost."
Audi ibn Jad returns to the lounge to await their host, after his freshing up a bit. The 1/2 orc shaman has new white face paint that cause his scars to fully be viewed properly.
I need to make a new Fetish Mask.
When wearing her fetish mask, a scarred witch doctor gains a +2 circumstance bonus on Heal and Intimidate checks and gains a +2 bonus on saving throws against effects that specifically cause pain or have the pain descriptor. If the mask is destroyed, the witch doctor can create another fetish mask (which almost immediately adopts the shocking appearance of the original) for the same price and time it takes a witch to replace a dead familiar.
You all get dressed and come to the main floor and you see a set of closed double doors to the front of you. The lady who wore the veil is standing there and all the slaves are standing in a line waiting when you arrive.
Augier stands there before the doors rather warily. His eyes look about and he wonders just who awaits them and figures that they are being made to sweat a bit before being let in.
Talia waits a bit impatiently, hoping from one foot to another, curious to see who or what was on their way.
The long wait is over and the double doors are opened by two slaves and a well lit and highlighted room with deep red and black appears. A tall man wearing clerical robes of the same color with swept back thinning black hair and a religious symbol hanging on his neck sits in a small throne. There is a larger empty throne in the room which you suspect is symbolic. He waits and says nothing remaining seated.
Given the way this guy came in, She will drop to one knee before him.
The handsome man then stands from his throne and looks at you all: I believe you to be the first to ever escape from Branderscar Prison. Well done! Of course, you had help from the outside,”
“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 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?”
Wiktor follows suit and drops to one knee, his spindly frame folding itself in subservience, the blunt horns on his head held low;
"Ashes and the dead!? Oh Wiktor vill serve Cardinal Thorne. Oh yes... he vil svear!"
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Augier rolled his eyes as the woman dropped to the floor and gave the robed man a respectful nod.
Then the speech happened.
Lofty goals, lots of words. But the burning and revenge sound good to me Augier thought. Then Wiktor flung himself to the floor and Augier sighed.
Vengeance for my dead clanmates and my torment sounds good. Yes. I'll help burn and slay. He decides to drop to a knee.
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She starts to get a wicked grin and opens her mouth, "You can take your
flurging..." This is interrupted as she punches herself in the gut and slams her head on the floor.
When she rises, "Part of me is an echo of one that has served Asmodeus for millennia. I will gladly continue this service under your mastery. Though I will need magical binding to serve properly. I have a suggestion for the phrasing."
"Oh, I've got your phrasing, devlish b&~~+." she adds, in reference to herself. "Oh, shut up Kivler! Some of us have fought the House of Darius all our life and beyond."
Once again she steels herself, "My apologies for the outbursts."
I have a contract that you may all sign since you are ready to do so.
Audi ibn Jad smiles as the scarred witch doctor listens to the Ancestors. The 1/2 orc approaches the Carnial, grins and bows.
We shall serve you and Asmodeus, but we do need the upplies to create our new Fetish Mask.
The rogue shrugs her shoulders. "Eh, easy come, easy go. I was going to murder them all anyways, so why not have the backing of a powerful Cardinal of the great Asmodeus to make it even easier?" She says with a wicked grin.
The first thing the Cardinal does is takes
an iron circlet and places it on the table. There is a unholy symbol of Asmodeus on it and he says: this acts as a hat of disguise and allows one to appear however one likes and should allow you to evade authorities. In addition I have a room of items and supplies including such a mask as you seek friend for each of you to pick some items you may need. .
Finally, before you may have anything you must sign this document with your blood and a piece of your hair.
THE PACT OF THORNS
Behold on this day __________ in the eighth age of this world a perpetual Compact is made between Cardinal Adrastus Thorn (hereafter the Master) and those who would be bound to him as his acolytes (hereafter the Bound). Both the Master and the Bound shall hold fast and true to this Compact through all trial and tribulation. By blood and soul the Bound commit to the Compact and swear that it shall never be undone.
The Bound shall know and understand the Four Loyalties.
The First Loyalty is to their patron and god – mighty Asmodeus, first among the fallen, prince of the nine hells, our father below. They shall do all that can be done to further his worship and his glory.
The Second Loyalty is to their master – He who is called the Cardinal Adrastus Thorn, High Priest of Asmodeus in Talingarde. They shall do the Master no harm and obey his every commandment as long as those commandments do not clash with their First Loyalty.
The Third Loyalty is to their companions – the other Bound who serve alongside them. The Bound shall deal with each other fairly and honorably as long as doing so does not clash with their first or second loyalties. All treasure, wealth and reward garnered in their exploits will be equally shared with all of the Bound who aided in its acquisition.
The Fourth Loyalty is to themselves – for Asmodeus is the Lord of Ambition and all who serve him should strive to become great and powerful in his service as long as doing so does not clash with their first, second or third loyalties. By their weakness, ye shall know the Unworthy.
The Bound swear that they cleave to and uphold the Four Loyalties even in the face of death and damnation.
The Master swears that as long as the Four Loyalties are upheld, he shall reward the Bound as they deserve for their deeds.
Thus it is written, and thus it shall be.
We being of sound mind and free will do so swear and let they who violates this Compact know all the wrath of Hell unending.
Signed
________________________
She will request an additional parchment and write out the following addendum.
The Terms of this Compact shall apply in Full to all Psyches, Personalities, Entities, Imprints, Echoes, Past Lives, or other subdivisions of the Mind and/or Soul or residing within the Body of the contractee. Should any of the above Appear, Join, or be Birthed in the Future, this Contract shall apply in Full to all. While included in the above, any such entity Inspired, Created By, Mirroring, or Influenced by the Poltergeist Kivler are specifically Bound by this Contract in Letter and Intent.
Should there be any Internal Dispute as to the correct course of Action, the psychic imprint of the contract devil known as Certifilicious Desirata, also known as "Certi", shall have Final Authority to choose the correct action in order to properly Serve The Loyalties specified above and Further Their Goals. The specified Authority covers both Compelling and Forbidding of all Actions, Communication, or use of Supernatural, Magical, or Mundane Abilities. Such Authority may be reassigned by the First or Second Loyalty at any point for any Reason.
Nothing in this addendum shall challenge any terms of the attached Compact.
As she does so, she is obviously fighting to hold control.
If the Cardinal approves, she will sign both the original and the addendum with "Certifilicious Desirata and Dellus and Jacinda and all others Express or Implied"
The Cardinal approves.
When the contract is brought out, Augier reaches out to place his mark but a sharp stab of pain in his hand makes him pause. Looking down, he sees the cat sitting on his lap and licking it's paw and then glance at him.
Augier waits for the others to sign and listens more closely to the terms before he reaches out and let's his bloodied hand become the ink to place a scrawl on the paper. Augier never learned to read or write so he just made a scribble that was sniffed at by the cat before it dropped off his lap and vanished.
Wiktor listens intently, trying to process all the big words and their meaning. He was a simple soul, happy with a lot that involved burying of cadavers, exhuming said cadavers and finally feeding on their corpse meat.
The maggots that spoke to him had foretold of Asmodeus, the Prince of all Devils. Even Deumus bowed to him. The maggots had stressed this.
Nodding to himself, the wretch drew his dagger and cut into the crown of his skull. He grimaced as the blade bit, then pulled away a chunk of hair and scalp, the rictus grin returning.
He pauses, momentarily concerned as the many-voiced girl began writing that he should also write something... A fear allayed when the stout orc clumsily wiped a bleeding palm o'er its contract.
Then he too signed, spidery fingers caressing the parchment as the ghoulish sorcerer made his mark in blood.
Audi ibn Jad smiles at the Cardinal, as the scarred witch doctor takes his Fetish Mask and Iron Circlet.
Placing them both on his face and head respectively, the 1/2 orc bows.
We are at your service, Master.
Audi ibn Jad signs.
you all have three days to relax and gather the equipment you wish from the stores here. After three days I will have a mission for you. Come see me together when you are ready.
Talia pops the claw on her index finger, slashes her forearm, and signs her name(which seems to be a lot longer than 'Talia') in a language none save maybe the Cardinal would understand.
Over the next three days, the personalities within will seem to be working out issues with the annoyed poltergeist. Figuring out the new balance now that her internal chaos is formally a hierarchy.
Augier was bored by the second day. Being locked up here was understandable since they were no doubt being hunted but he couldn't go out hunting and the slaves were doing all the cooking so he practiced with his new greatsword some in the back yard, slept, ate and became knowledgeable of the manor as much as he could.
He did get to know Grumblejack, being with the ogre made him feel better since the orcs and ogres of his lands were agreeable as they could ever be.
Aggghhh learns that Grumblejack was being poisoned by someone in the jail by his food and that he is much stronger now and very happy to talk with and hang out with Aggghhh rather then sit around while they help him overcome the poison by feeding him terrible tasting concoctions
Audi ibn Jad will research any scrolls, spellbooks, napkins from Denny's to add to his Mask.
For his part Wiktor selects a mismatched series of outfits and bids the servants combine them into a odd mix; part Dilettante’s outfit, part Artisan's garb.
The lanky wretch overlays the macabre ensemble with the cook's apron acquired from Branderscar.
He leaves some meat spoil, the communes with the maggots which writhe about the rotten food, proclaiming them harbingers of Deumus, the Duke of Hell who is his fell patron.
We best be careful Grumbles, the humans are probably going to look more after themselves then give a (censored) about us, Contract or no. Orcs and ogres have always been worth less than what they would scrape off their shoes.
Grumblejack chuckles at the nickname and says you and healer girl good in my eyes. Help Grumblejack out.
Audi peers up from researching various papers, scrolls and books.
Use that to your advantage, my cousins. The Ancestors teach that one's own prejudices will be their own undoing.
The 1/2 orc chuckles.
"Aww, that's so sweet!" says Jassie as she hugs his big ogre arm. She turns to Aggghhh with a grizzled voice. "That's one of the reasons I spent 40 years fighting that graxtafraxing House of Darius. I'm not gonna let any blueblood tell me I can't share a mug of murrl with an orc."
"I'll tell you all a secret, now that we're all in this together." she says with a silky voice, "I was contracted to provide a child that looks completely human, but with some fiendish advantages." She gets up, slides up her sleeves and rearranges the logs in the fire with her hands. Brushing off the ash, her skin in unharmed. "Now that I'm part of that child, I'm so glad to not be helpless in the dark. It's a wonder humans survived with such poor eyesight."
Wiktor does not engage much with the ogre, but at Jassie's admission he grins producing a small box;
"Wiktor's secret..."
His spidery fingers open its lid to show the contents: a scrap of spoiled meat upon which several maggots can be seeing writhing.
"The maggots speak to Wiktor. Since Gattleton... and first grave feast..."
The Cardinal summons you all on the third day and two others arrive also with iron circlets and equipment from the stores and he rolls up his sleeve and they do also and also have the brand and he says they have signed on the contract and will be joining you. Take a moment to introduce yourselves. I also have another group whom will also be doing my bidding from beyond the island who have arrived. I feel it best to not reveal you tasks to them and vice versa. When you are done with the introductions we will continue
The seventeen year old girl steps up, nervous, but wanting to get this out of the way. "Um, I'm Jacinda. or Jassie if you want. I have some powers, mostly healing, but a few other abilities..." There's a pause and she shifts to a very confident pose. "I should explain that there are more of us in here. I'm Certi, the echo of a Phistophilus Devil. I manage the system and handle more nuanced interactions." She slump, bent as if she aged sixty years in a moment. "Dellus here, Jassie's grandfather. I've been fighting for decades against those bastards on the throne. I could tell you a few stories..." She returns to Certi's posture and voice. "Oh, we'll have time for that later. Our last passenger is Kivler, an unpleasant little poltergeist who's currently sulking about being bound by this contract. Still, he's useful when you need to hurl something at somebody's head."