[Outer Hibarnhvidar, Market Road]
Caravans rumble by, forcing the pedestrian traffic to occasionally hop out of the way of the more stubborn traders. Sturdy looking Dwarven guards flank the entrance to the bank, wordlessly observing all that passes before their stoic forms. A rambling structure of off-white stone, the bank of the outer city diverts the footsteps of many a person towards its doors, subtly disrupting the normal flow of traffic along the road. You also see a gloomy Shadow Servant.
Also here: Fala Sorgin Vansiil, Court Assistant Celitha, Temple Inquisitor Khurek.
Obvious paths: east, west.

Khurek asks, "Kill it a lot?"
Khurek shrugs.

You see Temple Inquisitor Khurek, a Gor'Tog Cleric.
Khurek has ale-brown eyes. He has dusky olive skin and a thin build.
He is venerable for a Gor'Tog.
He has a tattoo of a fist of dark clouds holding a sword made of lightning on his neck.
A brilliant orb of rippling cerulean light hovers like a will-o-wisp, following him diligently.
He is in good shape.

He is wearing a silver-edged lochaber axe, a glossy purple-black obsidian vulture symbol, a black silken cowl, a mottled dark grey robe of steelsilk embroidered across the back with a large red spiral, a dark stained target shield, a belted kidskin baldric tooled with sinuous maiden's tress vines, a jadeite gwethdesuan, a kyanite gwethdesuan, a sturdy leather pack and a pair of dusty basilisk-hide boots.
You make a grunting noise.
Vansiil makes a grunting noise.
Khurek glances at you.

You squint at Khurek.

Celitha waves to you.

Vansiil offers Khurek a fresh whole dill pickle of a dark green hue.

You nod to Celitha.
Khurek says, "Really now..."

Vansiil says, "Mmmm... pickle."

Vansiil rubs a fresh whole dill pickle of a dark green hue.

Khurek harshly growls a few foreboding words as a halo of light flickers around his head.

You say, "So, at last, tha Inquisitor do be comin' ta Forfedhdar."

Khurek begins to focus on Vansiil!

Vansiil moves into a position to dodge.

Vansiil paces back and forth.

Khurek asks, "Is your name Kraggur?"

You perceive Holy magic clinging to Khurek.
The following magic is on Khurek:
Khurek has no spell prepared.

You say, "Indeed that do be me, name."

Vansiil says, "Pickles are good and right. What can I say."

Khurek says, "Good."

Khurek harshly growls a few foreboding words as a halo of light flickers around his head.

Vansiil takes a bite of the pickle.

Khurek begins to advance on you!
Khurek is still a distance away from you and is closing steadily.

You perceive Holy magic clinging to Khurek.
The following magic is on Khurek:
Khurek is preparing Soul Sickness.
Roundtime: 6 Sec.

Khurek gets a mining spike from inside his kidskin baldric.

Khurek gestures at you.
Something slippery as an eel creeps into your soul, engendering horrid feelings of inadequacy. You are thrown into a void of spiritual oppression.
You suddenly drop to your knees before Khurek, sobbing in dysphoria.

* Moving with powerful grace, Khurek feints a mining spike at you. You fail to evade, taking the full blow. The spike lands a good hit to your head.
[You're bruised, badly balanced with opponent in better position.]

* Driving in like an adept combatant, Khurek lunges a mining spike at you. You attempt to evade, mis-stepping and blundering into the blow. The spike lands a powerful strike that rips through the entire scalp, knocking you completely senseless.
[You're badly hurt, very badly balanced with opponent in excellent position.]
* Moving as one fluid extension of power, Khurek thrusts a mining spike at you. You attempt to evade, leaning wrong and blundering into the blow. The spike lands an extremely heavy hit that shoves the spike clean through the mouth and out the back of the head (Say 'ah'!).
* Kraggur was just struck down!

You are somewhat comforted that you have gained favor with your God and are in no danger of walking the Starry Road, never to return.

Vansiil gestures at Khurek.
Small motes of light flicker for a moment around Vansiil, then fade.

Khurek snaps the mining spike in half and discards the pieces.

Vansiil mutters to himself.

Khurek says, "There. Next time you feel like defacing temple property... Don't."

Khurek says, "And you."

You say, "So, you bring foul death 'n treachery ta those who be opposin' darkness."

Khurek glares at Vansiil.

Vansiil mutters to himself.

Khurek says, "Keep your cursed pickles to yourself."

Vansiil drops a fresh whole dill pickle of a dark green hue.

Vansiil raises one hand in a sharp gesture, chanting an obscure mantra.
You recognize the spell as Telekinetic Throw.

You say, "Should nae be suprised wit' yer casual disgard fer life 'n tha livin'."

Vansiil begins to focus on Khurek!

Vansiil giggles.

Vansiil gestures at Khurek.
A fresh whole dill pickle of a dark green hue lifts off the ground and hurtles toward Khurek!
He manages to get out of the way!

Vansiil exclaims, "Pickle Dodger!"

Vansiil frowns.

Khurek yells, "Take him away."

A troupe of guards marches into the area, cordoning off all the exits. The leader then procures various colored powders from his belt and tosses them through the air, revealing Vansiil's position!
"There he is, take him away." The captain says to his men. They quickly surround Vansiil with superior numbers, binding his arms behind him and marching him off.
As they leave, the guards remove the barriers from the room, allowing free passage again.

The Gwaerd returns afterwards, looking around sternly as if to showcase the fate of all lawbreakers.

You say, "Jest so ya be knowin', tha King, tha Conclave, 'n Gwaerd Ordhis Grutan will be known o' how ya treat innocent citizens o' Forfedhdar."

Khurek says, "Ah, but I have already spoken to your King. He is very reasonable. So is the Lyba Khalo."

Khurek chortles softly at some secret joke.

You say, "No suprise... ya probably threatened ta charge them as necromancers."

Khurek says, "How rude."

You say, "An' I do be makin' me intent now known ta let ALL be knowin' how ya treat them that oppose necromancy."

Fala Sorgin Vansiil just arrived.

Vansiil shakes his head.

Khurek says, "Next bit of business "

Vansiil exclaims, "False accuasations!"

Vansiil picks up a fresh whole dill pickle of a dark green hue.

Vansiil takes a bite of the pickle.

You say, "O' course, I be be findin' it most particular that ya seem ta be spendin' yer time killin' those opposin' sorcery than killin' necromancers."

Khurek glances over a parchment roll, then tucks it back into his robe.

Vansiil asks, "How many innocents are next?"

Vansiil says, "And Celitha... Shame on you."

Khurek says, "I already caught a supporter on my way, don't worry."

Celitha asks, "for what?"

Vansiil says, "Snitchin on people"

Celitha says, "i did not speak of anything"

Vansiil says, "Ya whispered.”

Khurek asks, "Did you just call reporting necromancers 'snitching'?"

Khurek glances at Vansiil.

Vansiil says, "If they are truly necromancers, no."

You say, "Ah, yes... a 'supporter'.... did be seein' that."

Khurek says, "He was highly...unhelpful."

Vansiil raises one hand in a sharp gesture, chanting an obscure mantra.
You recognize the spell as Distant Gaze.

Khurek shrugs.

Vansiil gestures.
The large, transparent image of a milky blue eye wavers in the sky above.

You say, "Aye, probably an innocent then."

Khurek asks, "Where are these Shevden, Nocturnica, Jaelia persons?"

You say, "They be well secured in their faith wit' tha gods, an' none o' us be tellin' ya a bit o' where they do be."

Khurek says, "Maybe they are. Maybe not. I'll find out."

Vansiil says, "But Im starting to think anything that walks near you is a necromancer"

Khurek says, "Tell me where those clerics are, for their own good. Really."

You ask, "Why waste yer time o' them who be not necromancers?"
Khurek says, "I'm not going to question them."

Khurek chuckles.

You ask, "Er be ya corrupted inta tha dark practices yerself already? Who keeps eye on tha purity o' tha watchman, eh?"

Khurek says, "I'm going to Vecuto's monastery now. I would've preferred to relay him their apologies, but I suppose it will have to be word of their indiscipline."

Vansiil asks, "So we aren't allowed to have views that differ from yours? Lest we be called necromancers or thier supporters?"

Khurek says, "Exactly. No need to soften it."

You say, "Talk ta Kertigen, be sure he ken tell ya o' tha Raven Priest's heart an' its purity."

A ragged-looking woman notices Khurek and suddenly starts to run, her eyes betraying panic.

Khurek narrows his eyes and motions quickly at a Khal Gwaerd nearby.

As a Khal Gwaerd charges the ragged woman, armored Dwarves appear as if from nowhere, each attacking her with sturdy wooden clubs! Shortly, the Khal Gwaerd lands a solid blow upon the woman's head, and she collapses to the ground in a heap. They quickly drag her off.

Khurek says, "Ship her and the others to the high temple in a nicely bound package. Thank you."

Vansiil exclaims, "Now what did she do!?!"

Khurek says, "Ichor of necromancy in her soul. So obvious."

Vansiil moves a fresh whole dill pickle of a dark green hue to his left hand.

Vansiil gets a grimy bar of soap from inside his journey pack.

You ask, "Klusarlaik, Iszuana, Sidhlot, Lyras, Tachid, ah, yes, and ya hae apprehended them so many times now?"

Vansiil offers Khurek a grimy bar of soap.

Vansiil says, "Ya better wash yerself then. Filthy"

Khurek says, "Stop offering me things, Elf."

Khurek declines Vansiil's offer.

Vansiil says, "Accept some of them and I might. Alls I offer are things you need."

Vansiil takes a bite of the soap.

Vansiil puts his soap in his journey pack.

Vansiil burps and a soap bubble comes out!

Vansiil sniffs at Khurek.
Vansiil winces.
Vansiil wobbles, looking a bit faint.
Vansiil falls over.

You ask, "Tha stick o' necromancy be well known ta Khurek... easy ta smell out tha dark arts one practices perhaps?"

Khurek says, "Look Dwarf, the undead are not my business. They are supposed to be destroyed on sight anyway. My job is to find the hidden filth. Simple as that."

Vansiil stands up.
Vansiil rubs his head.

You say, "Ah yes.... 'tha hidden filth' Tha ya ken find... an' make accusation against, when none other ken see it, eh?"
Vansiil takes a bite of the pickle.
Vansiil puts his pickle in his journey pack.

You ask, "Very... politically convenient?"

You ask, "How much did ya sell yer soul ta Tallis fer that, eh?"

Vansiil says, "Don't forget the secretive 'questioning' too"

Khurek says, "Well then, time to visit the monastery. We'll need to have a little chat about our little rebel clerics."

Khurek says, "Stay out of my way, and you'll be fine. Understood?"

You ask, "Ah, let me friends fall under yer dark shadow? What kind o' person would that make me then? Not much o' a friend."

Vansiil sighs.
You say, "And unlike some, I be not one ta turn on me friends who be true ta tha Gods.”

Khurek says, "Dangerous waters."

Khurek clucks his tongue and shakes his head.

Temple Inquisitor Khurek just went west.

lol I don't know what you guys expected to happen but that was fairly funny, thanks for posting it.

---

Rev. Reene

The black panther growls, "Are you blind Tachid? Kill Caelumia."
>
Tachid says, "SHE HAS BLUE FIRE"

And I missed it! Damnit, I would have had a hoot! I think they are avoiding me actually. Afraid of the Truth lol. Ah well, I am sure I will get tracked down at some point, heretics and blasphemers are just as bad I wager.


I do think it is funny that we have some Naughty clerics running with the crowd!

Left folded on the desk of Vecuto, a bright lavender piece of origami paper lays with the wax stamp of the Triquetra holding it closed. Printed in bold letters across the front are "For Khurek"

Inside a tiny script flows down the length of the paper.

Dear Sir.

How dare you besmirch our names! This was uncouth and down right dirty. Rebel Clerics indeed! How dare you good sir. We just firmly believe that torment and torture is one of the issues that seperate us from the enemy. None of us believe in the way you go about your interrogations and the rituals you yourself use.

For speaking up against your methods you have made false accusations against us and now have us banned from circling with Guild Leader Vecuto. Bad form I say! We choose to speak out against your methods and in turn have been slapped on the nose. I do hope there is a punishment for false accusations and that it is swift.

Each one of us who you accuse and block from circling within the monastary have been fighting tirelessly against Lyras. The three of us are FIRMLY against necromancy and the use of it. We do believe the sympahtizers are misguided souls and therefore need our intervention more then ever. Torture and torment are not the flavor of our Gods. I am doubly sure Aldauth is very proud of you.

You sir, slander us and seem ignorant of our stances on this matter. Rectification and an apology is in order from you post haste.

Nocturnica Para'Dyx, Forfedhdarian Cleric, devotee of the Triquetra.

---

On an OOC note. Thanks to the GM for going through with this rp. I look forward to the rest. When I took Noc to circle and saw Vecuto ignoreing her it was a riot. Me I find it very funny, Noc does not find it so funny and is as mad as a wet cat

My guess is the same place empaths get the 'pacifists who can't hurt a fly' thing from.

-Evran

Crackling with unspent rage since 386AV.

>>I cannot for the life of me figure out where Clerics keep getting the "torture and killing is not our way, if we do that then we're as bad as necromancers!" thing from.

I guess it just goes along with the diversity of the cleric guild and the diversity of the Gods. Some believe in peace and light and happiness and some believe bloodshed is a means to an end and then there's everything in between. What baffles me is when clerics don't seem to understand that all of these ways of getting the job done are equally valid in the eyes of the Gods...


~Player of "One of the Caels."
Spiritual Adviser to the Heretics

>>Clerics span the spectrum from the benevolent worshipers of the Light gods to the malevolent minions of the Dark gods, as well as the Keepers of Balance in between.

>>We are the menders of the soul and the force that shears it like fresh meat.

I don't really see clerics as sugar plum fairies dancing with kittens. Agreed, some may be peacefull entities, but some of the darker clerics are and should be fanatical. On a side notes the clerics themselves answer to the gods alone and are subject to thier will. If the gods say spread love and joy then so be it, but I think there's a place for raging clerical death from above all the time.

Anyway, I like where they took the Khurek character, though I think it should be even more sinister and dark than it currently is. Not only should this Tog be cleaning house with extreme predjudice, but there should have been a whole secret society of clerical assassins behind him to help him do it. Great post, I enjoyed it.



No ranger stands alone.

Actually he does.

Some shadowy figures that go back and forth to him.

Informants for sure, wherever they come from.

A shadowy figure runs out the massive city arch and whispers hastily to Khurek.

Khurek scowls at a shadowy figure.

Khurek says, "Yes, yes, I know. I've had those captured already. Go."

A shadowy figure slinks away.

Khurek says, "Worthless."
Khurek makes a grunting noise.

I cannot for the life of me figure out where Clerics keep getting the "torture and killing is not our way, if we do that then we're as bad as necromancers!" thing from.

Could someone explain this perspective to me by chance?

I will explain this from the aspect of my character involved.

Nocturnica use to gain favors with Eylhaar the light aspect of death. This is the promise of peacful death, pain free a quiet gentle passing. She was very devout in her worship. Noc tried to emulate the peaceful nature of this deity while still maintaining much of the tradition that is the prydaen way of life. In this she incorporated Tenemlor, the prydaen deity of death and rebirth. Back then there was no way for prydaens to pay hommage to the prydaen gods with favors and certain cleric rituals/spells.

When prydaen favors were introduced into the game and the event that came with it, Nocturnica was able to gain boons (favors) with Tenemlor. Tenemlor the deity of serenity, order and peace. Tenemlor is also the guardian of the dead from necromancers. All prydaen life starts and ends with Tenemlor, all prydaens answer to Tenemlor when their time comes to die.

Noc firmly believes the Immortals exsist, how could they not. She respects them for the deities they are, just they are not her gods. She holds to the doctrine of the Cleric Guild "You may worship any gods that you wish, as long as your devotion is genuine." That being said, in her letter to Khurek, she did not insult his worship, she did not call him down and she certainly did not say he was wrong, she said she did not agree with his methods. She was also outraged that accusations, falsehoods and her faith was called into question.

Her view on this is from the extreme light side of the Cleric Guild. She does believe all necromancers should die, that is not the question, what she does question is the method the Aldauth worshipping inquisitor is using. She is steadfast against torment and torture, why should she keep quiet about it? I thought her stance was very clear from her letter. For speaking out about her religious views the inquisitor (who is very fanatical) took his steps to "spank" anyone who has a different view then himself. That is also fine, and Noc can roll with it, she will not back down from her stance and she will not hold her tongue. This does present a great chance to RP the diverse views within the Cleric Guild.

There is more then the necro bloodlusting hate type. We have several extremes in many guilds in this game, the most severe being within the Cleric Guild. If it makes it easier consider Noc a peace loveing DR version of a religious hippy. From the pov of the Asketian on this account, she cheers and praises the actions of the inquisitor.

Thanks for posting your perspective. I wasn't trying to say it's bad RP or anything remotely like that; on the contrary, I love seeing people take a lot of different stances on this. I was just trying to understand where some people are coming from.

I (and my character) find statements to the effect of "this isn't holy/this makes us as bad as necromancers" odd because I think it's fairly obvious from the literature available to our characters that death, torture, emotional torment, suffering, and all of that stuff are strong themes in at least one half of the religion. My Moon Mage has been pretty outspoken in the past about the fact that she doesn't think you find morality in religion because so much bad is found there, and so the appointment of a priest of Aldauth doesn't really shock or upset her too much as a result; particularly since the majority of the people speaking out against Khurek have never apparently (to her) attempted to sit down and have a polite conversation with the guy, opting to provoke and insult him instead and act shocked at the results. Frankly, she would have hammered the spike through Kraggur's head too if he'd pulled a similar stunt, and she would have been a lot less nice about it. My Cleric on the other hand...well. :)

That said I do see the Light Cleric perspective on that, and it is pretty interesting. I don't think it's too surprising that your characters got banned considering the bend in Forfehdhar toward Dark Clerics, and I think you're taking it pretty well in stride. I've had some fun interactions with Noct in the past so I look forward to where it'll take you guys.

---

Rev. Reene

The black panther growls, "Are you blind Tachid? Kill Caelumia."
>
Tachid says, "SHE HAS BLUE FIRE"

Since Noct did this, so will I, and as I've made a few posts tonight in both forms, this one is an OOC post for clarification.

The way I've played Shevden is that Kertigen is a deep family commitment to the religion since I'm a dwarf and I RP that my parents live out in the Forfedhdar area.

My personal viewpoints on the religion agrees with Noct's viewpoint. I've seen the gods at work. I have very profound proof that they exist. I've talked with Tallis's cat very early in my career as a cleric, I've been transformed into a fish and spoke with a dolphin, and I've even faced Urrem'tier himself and felt Kertigen's presence in the void while getting the rezz spell. Even to this day, without Kertigen, I see that my rezz spell would be useless.

I like to RP Shevden as instead of just running head first into a situation, to look at the different options that are available and decide which is the best route to take. When it comes to conflict, he doesn't want to immediately resort to his mattock, but would rather talk it out first, whether the other person is another cleric, a necro or a politician.

The only exception to that statement right now is Tachid, for he's killed me a few times, and has even shaken a beard at me in the bank as a taunt, and so he believes that all talks are off with Tachid.

Some of the other points that has been brought up in this conversation is the topic of torture and outright killing. At this point, Shevden has always seen torture as something that is more along the lines of the dark gods, and does not with to travel that path himself, and will make it very clear about what he believes in.

Shevden believes that he can talk it out with anyone before having to duke it out, and on that note, will respect anyone's viewpoint of religion/god or lack of religion, and will not shove Kertigen on anyone, for its always better to find your way to the god that best suits you instead of being shoved into it.

Now, I realize that fatigue is starting to set in and I feel like I'm rambling, so if I need to elaborate, please let me know and I'll happily do so.




Raven Priest Shevden Helvalik