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| A Monk Approaches; Eztli finds some sinners... | |
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| Topic Started: Apr 8 2008, 08:41 AM (205 Views) | |
| FarainiteReveler | Apr 8 2008, 08:41 AM Post #1 |
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Rookie
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The man dressed in monk robes walked into town around midnight. He nonchalantly entered an alley, where the neighborhood beggar slept. When he left the alley, the beggar still slept... Just a bit more permanently, and with a bit more blood oozing from his head than usual. Eztli gripped the rosary in his hands, muttered a brief prayer of thanks to Serene, and slashed another tally mark on his wrist. It hurt, but then, it was a penance for all the sins he may have committed. As the monks always had said, "For every ounce of pleasure, a pound of pain." He continued along Main Street, passing taverns, and then shops. He studied these carefully. There were two story structures, but only the first appeared to be a shop. The owner probably lived on the second floor. It was a bit too high to jump, and he couldn't see any convenient barrels that wouldn't make a loud noise. So he continued on. Finally, he saw the castle, high on a hill top, guarding the small village. It wasn't really a castle, more like a block of stone surrounded by a wall. If the drawbridge was up, it might be formidable. As it was now, well, not so much. Hobbling along like an old man, hood drawn back from his face to reveal his shaved head that gave him a look of slight agelessness, the former monk approached the one guard on duty. In the darkness of a badly placed moon, the metal head of the hammer did not gleam, and the long shaft looked much like a cane. "Halt! Who goes there!" asked the guard. Eztli replied in a wheezy 'old' voice, "I'm sorry, young man, it's just that I'm afraid I got lost. Is there room in your inn?" In the time it took to say those words, he had crossed the drawbridge. "I said halt, old man!" "Fault?" asked Eztli, "Why do you say that?" "HALT!" yelled the irate guard, spraying saliva on Eztli's face. "Oh, halt! Why didn't you say so?" Eztli smiled benignly, as his grip tightened on the hammer. "Now you listen, old man, this is not an inn. This is the castle. If you want an inn, turn around and go back into town. They have several taverns." "Oh, alright then," said Eztli, starting to turn. But without warning, he lifted his hammer and smashed it into the side of the guard's head. The amount of time it took for the hammer to rise from the ground and reach the unfortunate man's skull was less than the amount of time his brain needed to process the shock. Eztli gripped the man's body carefully, to avoid the armor making a noise, and carefully laid him on the ground. He was heavy. The hammer then took this time to swing into the back of the unconscious guard's head, finishing the job. The sound was barely a thud, and the slight breeze probably muted it. A voice came from within the walls. "Crazy old man, huh?" Eztli listened and targeted the sound, as best he could, and figured it came from within the shadowy guard house. A second guard. He picked up the pike of the dead man, and crept around to the side of the door. "Oy, Bob?" the man asked. Silence greeted him. Curiously, the guard opened the door, and looked down to notice a pike sticking out of his stomach. His scream was choked out by the blood pouring from his mouth. Eztli walked over and grabbed his hammer, before creeping toward the castle… The following morning, the king woke to find the servants were missing. The servant's quarters were covered in blood... ...and Eztli's wrist was covered in tally marks. |
![]() Sure it's and advert, but I digress... Characters Eztli - Mad monk, but not Rasputin. | |
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| Shift | Apr 8 2008, 03:24 PM Post #2 |
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"I've got a lovely bunch of coconuts, deedleydee~~"
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Who ever said Clerics shouldn't feel sick at the sight of so much blood? Seen was even paler than was normal, literally white as he and a few others checked around to see if any had survived that dreadful night. Seen couldn't get information from anyone...it seemed that whoever did this covered up his or her tracks very, very well. Anyone who had run into this person was now dead or missing. The boy slowly stood from vainly checking over a guard, listening as the others talked amongst themselves. It was still fairly early in the morning, and rather unluckily Seen had been visiting a small group of clerics in town when the king staggered out of his own castle. This poor guard had a pike sticking out of his stomach...Seen clasped a hand to his forehead, expelling his breath with an audible whoosh. The castle was being searched, just in case the murderer was still within its walls. He dearly hoped not, and waited for the soonest opportunity to get himself out of there. (If you didn't want Seen here, go ahead and tell me and I can delete this blah post. :3) |
![]() +Amene & Amy+ +Seen+ | |
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| FarainiteReveler | Apr 8 2008, 04:53 PM Post #3 |
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Rookie
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((Ooh, yay! Plot action! Keep him here, definitely. It wasn't a blah post, by the way.)) Eztli felt Serene’s favor perch upon his shoulder. It was good to do the good work. After leaving the castle, he had washed the head of his hammer in the lake, and returned to the town, where he slunk into an all night tavern bar and got a room for the night. Bright and early the following morning, he rose. Knowing the town would be in an uproar, he searched the tavern for unlocked rooms with drunks sleeping, and destroyed a few more sinners. Whistling a cheery tune, the monk wandered down the street, using his hammer mostly like a walking stick. It wouldn’t do to have people notice him carrying it around as a weapon. People remember things. You have to be careful to make them only see what they want to see. The dusty roads manage to remove the glint of the cast iron. Whenever he passed an alley, he moseyed down into it and slaughtered any homeless people or drunks that happened to be in them. “Sinners,” he muttered under his breath, limping onward. He wasn’t injured, the limp just added to his inconspicuousness. He waved to some of the children and wondered idly about their innocence. He didn’t kill children, because Serene knew they didn’t know better. Besides, children were useful for other things. He glanced around for the temple of Serene. Finding the inauspicious building, he wandered in and limped up to the altar. A priest noticed him and hurried over, but he was already mumbling a prayer to the clicking of his rosary beads. The priest, possibly noticing the hammer, grew quite pale and scurried away. |
![]() Sure it's and advert, but I digress... Characters Eztli - Mad monk, but not Rasputin. | |
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| Shift | Apr 8 2008, 07:15 PM Post #4 |
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"I've got a lovely bunch of coconuts, deedleydee~~"
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(Thank you very much! ^__^) The opportunity came when one of the other cleric's tapped his shoulder, her brows furrowing in concern. "Seen? Go get a breather, aye?" The boy nodded his head and willingly left, holding his breath until he was a generous way away from the castle. With every grateful inhale of the fresh air Seen began to feel better, his mind beginning to get clearer. His feet carried him about the town, Seen not paying attention as he wandered down into an alley. The next thing he knew he had tripped over something, falling down right onto his stomach. As the very air around him took its companion from his lungs, Seen wheezed and rolled to the side. Those who passed the alley took no notice, leaving the cleric to struggle to get his breath back. With shaking limbs he pushed himself up into a sitting position, wondering what in the heck had tripped him-- --...Oh. His stomach almost heaved when he saw the dead body to the raggedy-clothed person lying in his own puddle of blood. The boy scurried to his feet and out of the alley way, trying to get his heart from pounding so fast. What was all of this? It was sick. Whether he liked it or not, it fueled Seen's curiosity as he dipped into alleys here and there, rather disturbed by what some held. Perhaps it was sheer luck or mighty good timing, for he noticed a limping man exit an alley. It seemed almost too casual as he waved at some passerby, the children hardly taking notice as they skittered past. Well, maybe Seen was just being highly suspicious, but that walking stick sure didn't look like any stick... Seen, as with any other alley, regretted sticking his head down it once he saw the lifeless forms slumped around. He shook his head, his pale blue and dark blue streaked hair shifting in its feathery way as he tried to catch sight of the man again. It could have just been coincidence that he had hobbled out of that alley, perhaps stumbling upon the bodies already dead...but Seen just couldn't shake his suspicious feeling. He followed at a casual distance from the man, but paused as he limped into the temple. Seen strayed a good fifteen yards from the entrance, hesitant. What under the heavens was he thinking, following a potential killer? Seen didn't have very many brave bones in his body, and right now he was on the urge to turn away and act as if he had never stumbled into...a lot of dead bodies...and saw some man...never mind. |
![]() +Amene & Amy+ +Seen+ | |
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| FarainiteReveler | Apr 8 2008, 07:50 PM Post #5 |
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Rookie
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((Warning! Hearty NPCing!)) The priest wasn’t sure where to run. He wasn’t even sure if he knew what he had seen. That was just a solid base for the cane, not a war-hammer. And the odd coloring was probably just rust, not… The old man seemed pleasant enough, and he was one of The Order. He certainly couldn’t have been in any way connected to the horrible happenings taking place up at the castle. Oh, he should never have thought that being a member of the clergy would be easy. Serene was such a good goddess, what could possibly go wrong? But oh, how foolish it was to believe anything in life would be very easy. And now there was a possibly dangerous man here… Kind of made one wish he had become a fisherman, like his father, or something less horribly dangerous, like a soldier on the front lines. Hurrying down the aisle, the priest turned and exited. He was trying so hard to not look at the possible dangerous man kneeling at the altar that he nearly tripped into Seen. Confused, he stumbled backwards into the doorframe. “O-oh, it’s you, Seen. Um. Dreadfully sorry, um.” The problem with being a young priest talking to an even younger cleric was that he had no idea what to say. Technically, clerics were more important, but they were both journeymen, and frankly it seemed to stiff, formal, and sycophantic to call him Journeyman Seen. “I, uh, there’s a mysterious man in there, uh, I think, uh, that, uh…” he stammered. Eztli finished praying, replaced his rosary, and stood. He gripped his hammer and hobbled toward the entrance, where the priest was talking to some young man. Wearing an expression of benevolence, he grew closer. His sharp ears picked up some of the priests stammering. Mysterious man? Must be him. He seemed worried. Nonchalantly, Eztli looked down at the base of his cane. Oh, there was still a little bit of blood showing. Ah well, can’t be helped. It looked a lot like rust, anyway. The priest was paranoid. Right, probably, but paranoid. “Hello, brothers. May Serene smile upon our meeting.” “Merciful Serene!” yelled the priest, jumping. An expression of abject terror (or was it horror?) was plastered onto his face. What had the man heard? He turned and tried to examine the monk for suspicion, but his knees grew weak and his eyes snapped to his feet when he saw those calm blue eyes that betrayed no evil. That was the expression of one who believed he was doing everything for the greater good. Though he had never seen that expression before, he knew this instinctively. Unfortunately, while looking at his own feet, the priest’s eyes wandered to the bloodstained head of the hammer. |
![]() Sure it's and advert, but I digress... Characters Eztli - Mad monk, but not Rasputin. | |
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| Shift | Apr 9 2008, 05:23 AM Post #6 |
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"I've got a lovely bunch of coconuts, deedleydee~~"
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Against his own will, it seemed, the young cleric found himself drawing closer and closer to the entrance of the temple. He almost yelped when the priest came out, his air of apparent distress not helping his jumpy nature any. Seen had to close his eyes for a minute as the priest addressed him, but his eyes popped open when he mentioned the mysterious man. But before he could reply, said mysterious man approached and scared the living daylight out of the poor priest. "Greetings," Seen was able to say in a level, natural voice as he observed Eztli. Well, he didn't look like a murderer...but like they said, never judge a book by its cover. He followed the priest's terrified gaze and looked upon the hammer, his stomach doing a complete somersault. It almost looked like rust, but Seen had observed too much blood that morning to disregard the possibility. How he was able to stay so calm was a mystery as he looked back up to the man, not seeming very alarmed anymore. Perhaps it was more numbness than anything. "Been busy, eh?" |
![]() +Amene & Amy+ +Seen+ | |
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| FarainiteReveler | Apr 9 2008, 08:19 AM Post #7 |
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Rookie
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The pair’s obvious scrutiny didn’t faze him. He was doing Serene’s good work, and he had nothing to fear from two brothers. ”Been busy, eh?” asked the one in cleric’s robes. Eztli smiled benignly at him. “I’ve been busy doing Serene’s work.” A complete and utter falsehood, maybe, but he thought it was true. Eztli’s warm eyes scanned the cleric. He was young, younger than Eztli (not as much younger as he probably thinks, but…). His robes were the classic woolen off-white of the Journeyman, and his eyes a bright green. Eztli studied his smooth, unblemished face carefully. Eidolonian? That would explain the pale skin. Sunburn would be a nightmare. If only the journeyman was four years younger, then… Probably best for Eztli not to think about his pet sin, echoing from his days at the monastery. The priest, however, was pretty unremarkable in every way. He was rather ugly, with a squashed and tanned face. Currently, he was obviously very agitated, and likely this was a permanent attitude. He probably wasn’t even smart enough to realize that he was a bumbling idiot. Okay, so it was a snap judgment, but Eztli was almost certain he wasn’t wrong. The priest looked faint. He briefly considered retreating into his private study, but something told him that being alone within a mile of a possible murderer was not conductive to a long, safe, and generally pleasant life. Unable to take his eyes off the hammer head, with its rusty, bloody metal, the priest leaned against the wall and tried to think happy thoughts. It didn’t go over very well. |
![]() Sure it's and advert, but I digress... Characters Eztli - Mad monk, but not Rasputin. | |
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| Shift | Apr 19 2008, 06:50 AM Post #8 |
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"I've got a lovely bunch of coconuts, deedleydee~~"
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Serene's work? More like Loki's work! Seen thought to himself. Suddenly, he didn't want to be here anymore...but he couldn't just leave the priest. The boy calmed his fluttering heart and nervously cleared his throat. All right, assuming this monk had killed all those people... "Serene's work, I see...but shouldn't you have given them the chance to repent?" Seen was taking a risk here, going on intuition since the facts weren't getting any clearer. "I don't think Serene would murder sinners." That word sent a shiver down his spine, but it was true. Why murder someone when they could ultimately change for the best? |
![]() +Amene & Amy+ +Seen+ | |
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| FarainiteReveler | Apr 20 2008, 10:23 AM Post #9 |
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Rookie
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”A chance to repent?” asked Eztli, “What do you think I am doing, young man?” His gaze sharpened severely, making him look more like a disappointed school teacher than a hammer murderer. “And as for this Serene murdering nonsense, everyone dies. If everyone eventually dies, and Her ways are, after all, eternal, then obviously She allows sinners to die. You really ought to think rationally,” he ended, oblivious to the irony. “But why are you telling me this, anyway? I’m just a humble monk. Complex theological questions should be asked of those scholars in their concordance filled studies, not of me.” His tone of voice, originally shaking as if with age grew sharper and, dare I say, younger as the time progressed. He turned then to the priest. “I say, are you quite alright there?” The clergyman spluttered. The crazy slaughterer was talking to him! “Buh spleh… Buhbuhbuh… Guh?” Don’t worry if you can’t understand him. He’s not talking in an actual language. ”You look awfully pale. Here, I’ll help you to your bed… You live further back in the church, yes?” Eztli walked over to the frailer man and tried supporting him from the waist. He went a bit limp. “Which way?” he asked. The priest didn’t reply. He was too busy being unconscious. |
![]() Sure it's and advert, but I digress... Characters Eztli - Mad monk, but not Rasputin. | |
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