Umbertiel, part 2 (Inquisition)

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Graybeard
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Re: Umbertiel, part 2 (Inquisition)

Post by Graybeard »

[OOC: OK, ready to move forward at the barn ... although there's still lots of catching-up to do at the temple. /OOC:]

In the silence that followed Lillith's doing whatever she did (it impressed Brad, to be sure), there was a soft creaking noise from the general direction of where the crossbow bolts had come from ... and a very small door, really no more than might cover a cabinet, opened.

First out of the door was a hand gripping a small, concealed object. A very small hand, as might be attached to a child of perhaps eight years old or so. The scrawny arm behind it was draped in what looked like the robe of a Veracian altar boy. The hand was shaking, hard, to the point that nothing could be told about the object it gripped, except that it was a stone-like brownish-gray.

Brad was just pointing this remarkable apparition out to the stunned Brother Timothy and Lillith, when the hand suddenly withdrew, to be replaced by the face of a small boy, terror written on every feature.

"L-l-l-luminost'y protect me," the child stammered when he saw the three. "B-b-b-be ye demons ... and Brother Timothy, sir, what be ye d-d-doin' with 'em?"
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Alberich
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Re: Umbertiel, part 2 (Inquisition)

Post by Alberich »

While she protected herself and Brad, Lillith had blown a path to freedom and concealing darkness - in the process blowing everything around the barn that hadn't been properly tied down. The ladder hadn't been tied down. Nor had Timothy's discarded robe. Nor had Timothy.

[OOC: Lillith left some lines out of her prayer: "Gentle spirits, one and all / Please don't blow Tim into that wall / And when your mighty winds have slacked / Do leave him with his skull intact."]

The winds had died down by the time the boy emerged. Brother Brad was still clinging to Lillith for dear life, or for some reason anyway, but at least he hadn't fainted a second time. Maybe he was getting used to this life of danger. Just then, the light up above shriveled and shrank, and then winked out completely.

Brad would've been happy to stay where he was, but Lillith knew there was work to be done. A gentle gesture moved his hands away, and then he had the presence of mind to draw out the glowing stone he'd prayed over before. Not so bright as the rafter fire, but enough to see. Carefully, they made their way over to the open door, the boy, and the stunned Brother Tim - who would doubtless be able to contribute much to his own healing, if someone could get him as far as "consciousness." Brad knelt by his side to take care of that, leaving Lillith to turn and face the scared-looking boy. In the stone-glowing light, she could see fresh swelling around his right eye, and an abrasion on his face.
Last edited by Alberich on October 14th, 2011, 1:47 pm, edited 2 times in total.
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Re: Umbertiel, part 2 (Inquisition)

Post by Graybeard »

As the boy saw Brad move toward the stunned Brother Timothy, his eyes got wide. "DON'T YE BE HURTIN' HIM, YE DEMON!" he screeched. "BROTHER TIM, HE BE MY FRIEND!"

The arm, the hand, and whatever it held reappeared, and the object shook in the hand, as though it was a gun being fired ...

... But absolutely nothing happened.

The boy looked in horror at the object. "Oh, shit," he said ... and he began to cry.
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Sareth
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Re: Umbertiel, part 2 (Inquisition)

Post by Sareth »

Lillith walked slowly towards the crying boy. "I'm not here to hurt you. I just want to know what happened here." She gestured back towards Tim and Brad. "He's a priest. He's here to help your friend. It'll be alright."

The boy looked at Lillith with eyes stained with tears and fright. He slowly began edging away.

Seeing this, Lillith stopped. She settled down onto her knees. "How about if I just sit right here? Will that be okay? Can you tell me what has you so frightened?"
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Re: Umbertiel, part 2 (Inquisition)

Post by Drannin »

Argus shrugged at Rose's thought-query. <"Seems a decent enough man, I suppose. He seemed very curious about the world at large. I suspect he may be more eager about this trip than he lets on.">
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Re: Umbertiel, part 2 (Inquisition)

Post by Graybeard »

<"I suspect you're right,"> Sister Rose thought at Argus, then switched back to vocalization. "I wish I knew what the assistant Abbot wants with us, though. It may be orders for the trip, since as far as he knows, we don't have any." In other words: don't tell him about the parrots. Argus clearly got the subtext.

To Rose's surprise, Father Arpad was waiting for them at the main entrance to the temple; she'd been expecting to be escorted to his study. "Thank you for coming," he said formally. "Follow me, please."

Uh, oh, Rose thought as she realized where they were going. Argus wouldn't know the layout of a typical temple, so she filled him in via mind-speech as they walked. <"If the layout of this place is like most temples, we're heading for a chapel ... that also doubles as a morgue. Be braced for something unpleasant involving Bree.">

She was only half right, however. Arpad soundlessly opened the door to what did look like a chapel, and there was a sheet across a table there that had suspiciously body-shaped bumps beneath it. However, the remains looked too big to be Sister Bree's ... and there was an odor to them that Rose didn't like.

"There was only one fatality at the stables, Luminosita be praised," Arpad said. "Be braced when I pull this sheet back, it's not a pretty sight. But I need to know: was this Father Blaise? You met him; I did not. Here goes..."

Oh my god. The odor of burnt flesh was repellent under the best of circumstances; here, in this holy place (and Rose conceded it was that, whether overdone in the Orthodox way or not), it seemed positively indecent. Rose had to blink a time or two before she could focus on the charred body, but ...

"Not Blaise," she managed to get out. "He was taller and thinner than this poor man, and the hair color isn't right. Don't you agree, Argus?"

Arpad nodded. "The one available novice who met Blaise agrees with your opinion," he said, covering the body back up. "But this man wasn't known to anyone who has seen the body, and it is our job, as shepherds of Luminosita's flock, to know the people of the town. So if he isn't from town, and he isn't Blaise, and he clearly isn't anyone from your party ... who is he?"

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[OOC: As a reminder, the next part, at the barn, is happening a couple of hours after the above events at the temple. We'll get re-synchronized eventually. /OOC:]

Brother Timothy seemed to be coming around, so Brad abandoned him for the moment and went to where Lillith was speaking comfort to the altar boy, and added his own soft ministrations. After a minute or two, the child was able to speak through his tears.

"I be so sorry, sir and ma'am, truly I be," he sniffled. "I be thinkin' you be demons a-runnin' off wi' Brother Tim's soul, and I be gettin' so scared, I be startin' to shoot ... Glad I be missin' you all, almost be hittin' Brother Tim by mistake ..."

"It's okay," Brad soothed the child; he'd had altogether too much practice comforting children in his temples to the north, too many parents died young there. "I think Brother Timothy will forgive you; we certainly do. But can you tell us what happened to scare you so badly?"

The boy sniffled again. "It be Uncle Shemmy ... the demons be gettin' him. He's dead." The floodgate of tears re-opened.
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Sareth
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Re: Umbertiel, part 2 (Inquisition)

Post by Sareth »

"Demons?" Lillith's voice was briefly sharp, but at the flinch from the child she forced herself to keep a calm and soothing tone. "I can understand why that would frighten you so badly. But you know what? You are a brave young man. Most people thinking they were being attacked by demons would have just run away or hid in a corner. You tried to protect yourself and yours. I think you're an admirable boy. I'm Lillith and this is Brother Bradford. What's your name?"
Last edited by Sareth on October 15th, 2011, 12:23 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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Drusia
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Re: Umbertiel, part 2 (Inquisition)

Post by Drusia »

OOC: Okay, I can confirm - I now have internet. Shaky, often disconnected internet, but internet none the less.

And... wow... lot of very odd stuff happening. ^^;;
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Re: Umbertiel, part 2 (Inquisition)

Post by Graybeard »

[OOC:
Drusia wrote:OOC: Okay, I can confirm - I now have internet. Shaky, often disconnected internet, but internet none the less.

And... wow... lot of very odd stuff happening. ^^;;
Glad to hear you're back in touch; we've been assuming that Desiree and Eli are either ... busy, or sleeping it off. :twisted: Feel free to put yourselves back into the picture at any time; it's probably mid-afternoon at the temple, early evening out at the barn. So to continue:]

I have this unsettling feeling that I've seen this man before, Sister Rose thought as she examined the hideously charred body. Maybe not the man, but somebody who looks a lot like him. And what's weird is: what's sticking in my mind is that he resembles somebody else ... in death.

She turned to Argus. "This will sound morbid," she said, "but does he remind you of anyone we've had to bury recently?" Back to Brother Arpad. "We've had a disturbingly large number of those in the last few weeks," she explained with a feeble, and unsuccessful, attempt at a smile.

------------

Lillith's (and, to a lesser degree, Brad's) ministrations were beginning to have an effect on the terrified child; his sobbing stopped again, and his eyes started to clear, although he was clearly still hovering right on the brink of a breakdown. He mustered a weak smile and addressed Lillith and Brad. "Thankee, Your Holiness and ma'am." (If Brad was surprised at the use of an honorific normally reserved for ancient, illustrious priests, he didn't show it.) "My name be Ronald, but ever'body be callin' me Ronnie. I be an altar boy at yon temple of Our Lord Lum'nosty. I don't be thinkin' I be so brave, I just be scared about what the demons be doin' to my Uncle Shemmy -- I think most people be callin' him Shem."

Shem? Where have I heard that name before? Brad wondered, reaching exactly the same conclusion as Lillith and Brother Timothy, namely that he hadn't. "Is -- was -- your Uncle Shemmy from this town?" he asked.

The boy shook his head. "Nay, sir, he be comin' from far away and he was a-sleepin' here in this barn," he said. "We was a-goin' to be gettin' together to see each other a little bit. He be my favorite uncle, you see -- was my favorite uncle."

He was starting to cloud up again, so the two adults paused for a bit of comforting. When he looked ready to continue, Brad asked the obvious question. "So he came to town just to see you? That was very nice of him."

Unexpectedly, the boy shook his head. "Nay, sir, he be comin' to town to fight the demons -- differ'nt demons."
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Re: Umbertiel, part 2 (Inquisition)

Post by Jack Rothwell »

OOC Been swamped with work. dead on my feet right now. I'll try to post something tomorrow. Drag Eli around as needed, if needed./OOC
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