[Nexus] Temples of Dalachrech I

[OrchestraHc]

Elizabethele's Room

Y'know, with all of your hinting, I'm starting to think Elizabethele is a bit racist.

Brand comes in just before Justin was about to ask if there is a problem or if she is mad. "Perfect timing. I was just getting hungry." He'll try his meal. A lesser meal or not, if it's better than two hundred year old instant macaroni and cheese, it is most likely the best thing Justin has ever tasted. He catches himself mmmmm-ing. He decides from there to go for a pleasantly surprised reaction. "Very good. You may sit over by the dog. Just try not to get his stink on you." He'll eat his delicious delicious food quickly. "My lady, if I could have some time alone and some paper, I could write up a suitable contract by tommorrow morning."

[C'nor]

Originally Posted by Earl of Purple

Riverside Temple- Punishment Room

"It looks like I might have misnamed you, Wussy. Nevermind; you'll start screaming soon enough." Azurelle will reach up and unlock the manacles, releasing Despair/Wussy from her bindings. "Toy, as you didn't bind Wussy properly, you can undress. And put this blindfold on." When that's completed, Toy's clothes will be given to Despair.

If Despair puts the clothes on, Toy will be left blindfolded and manacled to the ceiling of the Punishment Room whilst Despair and Azurelle go to her guest room.

Despair, who ends up with the faint hint of a smile on her face at hearing Azurelle thinks she might have been misnamed, does indeed put the clothes on, though somewhat stiffly and gingerly, given that she's been hanging from the ceiling, or close to it, for quite a while, and both her shoulders are injured. Still, while it does take a bit longer, it's certainly nothing that could reasonably be construed as deliberate delay.

[Earl of Purple]

Hermitage- Elezibethele's Room

Only a little bit? Elezibethele is very racist, but she's willing to wait before starting a xenocidal campaign of extermination against the human race.

With Brand is a scaled lizardperson, bearing a tray for Elezibethele. When it has been handed over, he leaves.

"Of course. If you are tired, when we have finished the meal I can have a guard show you to your room. There's a room neighbouring it so your slaves can sleep nearby should you choose. If not, there's spare beds in the temple slave's chamber. Alternately, it's a double bed. You will be locked in, I'm afraid, but it's for your own safety- our night-guards are twelve-foot-long centipedes, and they will attack anybody found wandering the corridors at night. Before breakfast, I'll be leading a sermon in the chapel, where we met earlier. Unfortunately, we don't have a sacrifice available, but it should still be good." Elezibethele doesn't explain her statement about the double bed, but everything she has said is true. Also, she shares her meal with Mine, though he doesn't seem to enjoy it especially much.

Riverside Temple- Punishment Room to Guest Room

Because Toy is expecting to be punished any second now and can't see, Azurelle does not do more than watch as Despair/Wussy gets dressed. Azurelle would try to hurry Despair/Wussy up if she could be sure her methods wouldn't cause Despair/Wussy to make a noise and alert Toy that Azurelle's attention is elsewhere.

[C'nor]

[Riverside Temple- Punishment Room to Guest Room]


Given that Despair/Wussy remained silent through a branding, having a frost-burn cut off, and her new name being carved into her shoulder, goading her to hurry in some fashion would be rather unlikely to cause her to make noise, and if Azurelle does so, she will indeed remain silent, and do her best to hurry, though she's going fairly close to as fast as she can as it is.

[Earl of Purple]

Riverside Temple- Guest Room

The room is down the stairs from the attic, out of the storage area within which the loft entrance is concealed and is the room right next door. Azurelle asked for the room closest to the Punishment Room. The room itself is spacious, with a large four-poster bed and a wardrobe, with no other decoration. The walls are green, the floor is wood-panelled and the bedsheets are blue.

"I know you've only just put those clothes on, but now it's time for you to remove them. Here, allow me to help." Azurelle will walk over to Despair/Wussy and start helping to remove her clothes, though she'll spend more time stroking, pinching, prodding, or rubbing Despair/Wussy's bare flesh than actually assisting in the removal of the clothes. Lots of attention is paid to the still-sore new wounds on Despair/Wussy's shoulders and anywhere that made her flinch earlier.

[C'nor]

[Riverside Temple - Guest Room]

Despair/Wussy seems to be stubbornly attempting to make Azurelle reconsider the name she chose, and her reactions are much more subdued, except in the case of the wounds on her shoulders - rubbing the brand causes her to flinch away just as much as she did in the Punishment Room, and prodding where her name was carved into her back makes her tail lash, and her involuntarily try to shift away, much like she did when it was first carved in.

"Sor- Mistress, a question, if I may?"

Apparently, the Tiefling still has some remnants of her old conditioning left; she caught herself quickly, but she started to address Azurelle as Sorceress.

[Earl of Purple]

Riverside Temple- Guest Room

"Of course you can ask a question, Wussy." Azurelle is determined to make her scream, but that can wait until after the question.

[C'nor]

[Riverside Temple - Guest Room]

"Thank you, mistress. Was the purpose of having me dress before we came down purely aesthetic, or was there some other reason for it?"

Making Despair/Wussy scream will be difficult, to say the least. She's been through a lot of rather unpleasant things.

[iElf]

Originally Posted by OrchestraHc

Elizabethele's Room

Y'know, with all of your hinting, I'm starting to think Elizabethele is a bit racist.

A bit?

anyway, Mel will be brought here, still out cold

[OrchestraHc]

With a thoughtful, "Hmmm..." he rubs his chin, looking deep in thought over the bedding decision

Okay, Gin Rummy time. What does he have, what does he need, what can he drop. He has a way to call the cavalry, he has a way out of a locked room, and he knows how to get to the exit. He's also fairly confident he can take a giant centipede, his weapons are not toys. He needs to know where the slaves are, he needs to know where the hell they took Mr. Squiggles, and he needs Waterstrider and Brand by his side. So he can pull from the discard pile, have his "slaves" taken to the hermitage slave quarters at the expense of being near his team, or pull from the deck and assume Brand shmoozed the slave quarters location from the kitchen workers.

He picks the deck. Brand has a ring that would've made the slaves friendly to him, and he has to trust his teammate worked towards the mission. Justin also will not risk seperating them again. If all else fails, his first priority is getting his team out alive, and he can't do that seperated. They can try to save them later. Or even get Remnant involved now that they have audio evidence the cult of Dalachrech not only takes slaves, but human sacrifices.

"A double bed? Yes, that would work, my lady." He smiles and gives a deep bow. "I humbly ask that my slaves and I stay in the same room, my lady. Having the dog locked across the hall would hardly be protecting me."

[Earl of Purple]

Hermitage of Dalachrech- Elezibethele's Room

"Very well. Guard, take my guest and his slaves to one of the guest rooms. With a nice, large bed and plenty of straw." The aranea guard who entered when Elezibethele called nods and will lead Justin, Brand and Waterstrider to one of guest chambers, on the same floor of the castle as Elezibethele's room and the slave quarters.

The room selected is a chamber of opulence, with a massive four-poster bed that could feasibly support four people. More, there's a mirror set in the ceiling above it, a huge wardrobe, a dresser, and an open chest containing quite a few... Toys. Also, a door leads off the room to one side, next to the bed.

Seems Elezibethele's idea of what the double bed will be used for might not be what Justin intended.

Riverside Temple- Guest Room (Timeline 1)

"I don't like others seeing my private property. And between neck and knees, you're my private property." So as well as being a sadist, she's jealous.

Riverside Temple- Garage to Punishment Room (Timeline 2)

Azurelle will direct Despair to manhandle Mel'ara up the stairs all the way up to the attic Punishment Room, though the drow is perfectly able to wake up at any time between arrival and destination.

[C'nor]

[Riverside Temple- Guest Room (Timeline 1)]

She nods thoughtfully, looking a bit confused.

"I see. Doesn't that apply to the other one too? What if someone else needs to use the Punishment Room before you retrieve her?"

[Riverside Temple- Garage to Punishment Room (Timeline 2)]

Despair/Wussy, naturally enough, will do her best to comply with Azurelle's instructions, though her success level is, of course, partly dependent on if Mel'ara wakes up, and especially whether she tries to get free.

[OrchestraHc]

Hermitage- Elizabethele's Room -> Double Bed Room

Justin gives a final bow to Elizabethele before turning to leave. "Dog, Servant, Follow." Justin says curtly before being lead out of the room.

When they reach the room he'll act quickly to try and interupt any break in character just because their alone. "Fido. Stand by the door and keep your nose and ears open. Tell me of anyone or anything you sense in that hallway." He then points at Brand. "You. Sit on the bed." Just because they were alone does not mean they weren't being eavesdropped on.

He'll also try to take a peek through that extra door.

(The toys, are they toys or are they toys?)

[happyturtle]

Hermitage - Double Bed Room

Brand is afraid to break character as well. After all, these are worshippers of an insect god. They could have hundreds of tiny spies in the room already! He obeys, and clambers up onto the massive bed to take a seat.

[Earl of Purple]

Hermitage- Guest Bedroom

Most certainly the latter type of toy, the kind a child should not play with.

The door opens into a small, dark chamber with two manacles chained to the wall and a thin layer of straw covering the floor. There's also a bucket. The manacles do not reach low enough to allow the standard human to sleep with the shackled limb lying flat; Brand would have to stand on tiptoes to reach them.

Riverside- Guest Room (Timeline 1)

"Toy is but one of a set, and I know her body as well as my own. Besides, the catgirl when we arrived? She belongs to the God of Invertebrates, Dalachrech, and only His highest-ranked clergy have the authority to punish them, and I know the only person of the requisite rank at this Temple is at a party. Besides myself, anyway, but I'm just visiting." This would be the first that Despair/Wussy has heard about Dalachrech in relation to her captor. I don't know if the tiefling would have heard about Dalachrech, that He's a demon-god whose Nexus powerbase is centred upon Inside, not Riverside. Or at least, His only surface temple open to all is in Inside.

[C'nor]

[Riverside- Guest Room (Timeline 1)]

She would not, no. Which explains the increase of confusion in her expression, though her prior question was answered.

"Dalachrech, mistress?"

[Earl of Purple]

Riverside Temple- Guest Room (timeline 1)

"Dalachrech is the Lord of Invertebrates, God of Arthropod and Mollusc, Annelid and Nematode. I am the Grand Mistress of the Order of the Centipede, a paladin order devoted to His cause. My station is the Hermitage, but Toy had an idea to get new slaves and I'm here until further notice to collect them. Incidentally, my name is Azurelle d'Langley, but please call me Mistress." Hopefully that answers the question.

Also, they're more blackguards or the paladin of slaughter variant, if one must refer to the Order of the Centipede in DnD terms. And Azurelle is the only member.

[C'nor]

[Riverside- Guest Room (Timeline 1)]

Personally, my thought on paladins has always been 'warriors specifically devoted to a deity', so I'm fine with referring to her as a paladin.

"Alright, mistress. Though I may accidentally use Sorceress on occasion; that was the appropriate term when I was in a Sorcerous House, and I haven't yet entirely broken that training."

[Earl of Purple]

Riverside Temple- Guest Room (Timeline 1)

Yes, that's my thought, too. And I've had plans about a paladin character who rode a camel and was based on the Mamluks of Egypt or Janissaries of Turkey rather than the Knights of Western Europe.

"Yes, about that- I didn't recognise the symbol, and I know most of the local slave trading organisations and their clients. Who were they, and how did you escape?" Azurelle knows Despair/Wussy wasn't released because had that been the case the brand would have been removed or altered to reflect that fact- with a cross through it, or something.

[C'nor]

[Riverside- Guest Room (Timeline 1)]

That sounds like an interesting character. Who would they be a follower of?

"House Ostrim, of Taelarys. I escaped by partially getting in the way of a spell, so that I had a large blade made of ice sticking out of my leg, requiring me to be taken to the nearest healer, who was outside Ostrim Tower. When I'd been healed, he fell asleep due to the costs of such magic, and I was able to get into the city without difficulty."

[Earl of Purple]

Riverside- Guest Room (Timeline 1)

I could never think of anybody that would be suitable. I could make one up, but then I'd have to remember the name of the deity and things. Plus I can never get good characters to work*. And in both cases they'd be a slave to a ruler, and Mamluks were eunuchs. Not sure about the Janissaries, though.

"And that is why I prefer healing potions. I use a modified recipe you'll get to know soon enough, don't worry." It heals the wound, but contains the minor side effect of not telling the injury it's being healed so it leaves the pain behind.

If Despair/Wussy has removed her clothes by now, this next bit happens. If not, it will wait until the clothing is removed. "Now, help me take my dress off." If Despair/Wussy complies, she'll find Azurelle hinders efforts by resuming her pinching, prodding and stroking.

*Unless they're a child.

[Wolfbane]

Hermitage - Guest Bedroom

Waterstrider does as he's told, giving Justin's back a quick look, as if to let him know that they're going to likely discuss things when everything's all said and done. The expression fades quickly however, and he listens carefully to their surroundings.

[C'nor]

[Riverside- Guest Room (Timeline 1)]

Despair/Wussy's clothing probably has come off by now, yes, and she will indeed comply with Azurelle's order to remove her dress. The pinching, prodding, and stroking will hinder her somewhat, but she's used to performing fine tasks with distractions, so not too much.

"I'm sure they would have too, mistress, had those been available to them. But there was still a lot of bad blood over the Alchemist-Sorcerer War, and it was an Ostrim sorceress, who started that, so it would have been quite hard, to say the least, to buy any."

[iElf]

Originally Posted by C'nor

[Riverside Temple- Garage to Punishment Room (Timeline 2)]

Despair/Wussy, naturally enough, will do her best to comply with Azurelle's instructions, though her success level is, of course, partly dependent on if Mel'ara wakes up, and especially whether she tries to get free.

Mel groans , slowly stirring again... "mmmhh....where am I?"

[C'nor]

Originally Posted by iElf

Mel groans , slowly stirring again... "mmmhh....where am I?"

Despair frowns, glancing warily at the deadtimed Azurelle.

"I don't think I'm supposed to tell you that... And I'm sorry about your hand, by the way. It wasn't my choice."

[iElf]

Originally Posted by C'nor

Despair frowns, glancing warily at the deadtimed Azurelle.

"I don't think I'm supposed to tell you that... And I'm sorry about your hand, by the way. It wasn't my choice."

mel looks up , remembering what happened... "let me down! NOW!"

[C'nor]

Originally Posted by iElf

mel looks up , remembering what happened... "let me down! NOW!"

The Tiefling shakes her head, continuing to haul Mel up the stairs.

"No thanks. I don't think I even want to know what would happen to me if I did, much less go through it."

She may be compassionate, as shown by her apology for burning the drowess's hand, but she's reasonably pragmatic, too.

[iElf]

Originally Posted by C'nor

The Tiefling shakes her head, continuing to haul Mel up the stairs.

"No thanks. I don't think I even want to know what would happen to me if I did, much less go through it."

She may be compassionate, as shown by her apology for burning the drowess's hand, but she's reasonably pragmatic, too.

"You know what will happen if you don't ? do you know who I am? now LET. ME. DOWN!"

[C'nor]

Originally Posted by iElf

"You know what will happen if you don't ? do you know who I am? now LET. ME. DOWN!"

[RT - Stairs]

"Yes, I do know what will happen if I don't," she replies acidly, glaring at Mel. "You'll yell at me some more, likely include a bit of swearing, and be completely unable to actually do anything to me."

[iElf]

Originally Posted by C'nor

[RT - Stairs]

"Yes, I do know what will happen if I don't," she replies acidly, glaring at Mel. "You'll yell at me some more, likely include a bit of swearing, and be completely unable to actually do anything to me."

Mel screams loudly "You stupid cow! let me down now! Let Me DOWN!!!" she kicks and thrashes as much as she can